Finding Korra
by Avatar K0rra
Summary: Following up on the ep10 when they find Korra after she was kidnapped by Taarlok. MAKORRA :3 its a bit of a fluff and might be some smut after the first chapter. RATED M just to be safe lol and it also will be in correlation to any upcoming episodes to make it realistic. ENJOY! :3
1. A Change of Heart

**Note: Okay so…this chapter is basically just an intro to the rest of the story. This is my first time writing a Fanfic lol so….be nice, or well…at least be understanding. I'm a huge LOK fan ^.^ and a few of my friends even call me Korra because they say I act like her….So it kind of inspired me to really write an FF about the show. I hope you enjoy it. The beginning is just an intro to start things off but there will be more to come.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Legend of Korra.**

The night was dank and dark with a light haze glowing over the city lights of Republic City. There was a light moisture that hung in the air, smelling of saltwater and whatever scents that drifted about from the day time city life. It didn't help that the flight on Oogie's back forced a chill down everyone's spines from the wind…. That and the fact that they couldn't find the Avatar….Avatar Korra.

Tenzin, Lin Beifong, and the remains of Team Avatar, minus Korra, were anxiously scanning the city for the lost watertribe girl, the most anxious and persistent of them all, being Mako. Though he was with the beautiful, green-eyed Asami, he couldn't fathom the idea of possibly losing the waterbender the moment that he had found out she was in trouble. How could he be so stupid? How could he have been such an idiot and reject her feelings? It was obvious that she had started to like him ever since they had become teammates, and he would admit that he had been intrigued by her as well, but….he had rejected her, too afraid to risk any drama with the team and too awkward to say anything….How could he be so stupid? And now this? He had to find her. He didn't want his chances with her to be something taken for granted any longer… It just wasn't right.

Suddenly, Mako's brows jerked up at a white figure wandering around on the streets. He straightened his posture, instantly erect at the sight of a giant polarbear-dog. "Look! It's Naga!"

Tenzin strained on the reins so that Oogie, the large skybison, would glide down and land on the street.

Bolin leaned his body over the edge of the saddle as they neared the ground, his emerald eyes wide with excitement and fear. "Is that Korra?"

Everyone leapt off of the saddle the moment they landed, quickly crowding the polarbear-dog with a very unconscious Avatar on her back.

"Korra!" called Tenzin.

Aqua irises lazily peaked from beneath the waterbender's heavy eyelids. Her mocha skin bruised and scratched from whatever hardships she had encountered from being kidnapped.

Mako's heart jerked unexpectedly as he was over come with the impulse to take control. It was that innocence in her eyes from her utter exhaustion that made her seem so fragile. Korra was hurt and he wanted no one to touch her. With a surge of possessiveness, he scowled and aggressively stormed through the group. "Give her some space!"

Asami stared at him in shock as he brushed her aside and impatiently strode forward to take Korra in his arms. Then he turned and walked off toward Oogie as if no one else existed, as if no one else mattered, and that alone made Asami feel somewhat empty…

Mako stared down at the battered Avatar, who now sported a new cut over her left cheek and another on her left shoulder. He didn't even want to look for the other wounds.

She looked up at him with disheveled hair and exhausted oceanic eyes.

"I was worried about you…" his dark brows slanted upward and his voice came out soft. "Are you ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine.." she smirked weakly. "I'm just glad you're here.." Her eyes drifted closed for a moment and she rested her head against his chest, his spiced fiery scent whelming her senses entirely.

That statement alone made it even more impossible for Mako to ever tear his eyes away form her. From then on, he wasn't going to let her out of his sight. He never wanted his Korra snatched away from him again, not in any way, shape, or form.

His Korra?…

…Well that was it felt like wasn't it?… She had weeded her way so deep into he and Bolin's life that he couldn't imagine a time without her….without the way she was bold and brought about this high energy every time she entered a room…the way she charged into to everything without preparation…the way she kissed him at the probending championship tournament…

He gently rested her weary form into the saddle on Oogie's back, before reaching over to brush a strand of hair from her face. He would never take his flarey amber eyes off of her ever again. Losing her would be risking to much and he meant that selfishly. "You're safe now." He stated boldly after pushing back her hair.

Korra met his warm eyes with half consciousness and easily slipped off into a deep sleep.

**This is all basically just a refresh of everyones memory and a brief guide on how people are feeling.**


	2. What She Deserves

**Note: Okay so…to be honest, I wasnt really sure what to write for this chapter lol.. umm Its sort of just a build up for whats to come…and as confident as I am, I'm actually a little nervous of what you guys might think of this chapter hehe *nervous laugh*…definitely no smut yet, but….next chapter should definitely have some. :p errrrr….enjoy? ^.^' dont killl meee haha..**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has to do with Legend of Korra.**

Arriving on Air Temple Island wasn't something Korra remembered very well. It was nothing but a bunch of blurs, fading in and out and clashing with other images. The only thing that stood out the most was Mako. Everything else had just been way too much to take in. Mako's warmth and the security she felt with him just seemed much more simple to fathom in her dazed state…not that it made much sense to her, of course, since he was with Asami, but what had made her fatigue so amazing was the fact that…well…she didn't have to think about those sorts of things.

So, maybe Korra couldn't remember much of what happened along the way to Air Temple Island, but she did remember what she felt. The first thing she remembered was that Mako was right beside her and slightly cradling her against the side of his chest. The second thing was how worried she was. If she had just escaped from Amon and Tarrlok, wouldn't that mean Amon might try to capture her again? Had he followed her at all? She wanted to tell the others so bad. Tenzin had to know what had happened up at Tarrlok's cabin but…she was just too utterly depleted. She just wanted to sleep….and the spicy warm scent that emitted from the firebender's clothing was enough to help her do just that…sleep.

The moment they arrived, Mako scooped the young Avatar into his arms and carefully climbed down from the skybison without a word. The rest of the gang followed in suit and Bolin approached Tenzin worriedly. "Is Korra going to be ok?" he asked.

At this, Mako turned with a dark flare in his eyes. "Of course she's going to be ok." His voice was stern and bold even though he knew not was true. It was more like he was defending what could be an ugly truth.

Tenzin hesitated and cleared his throat. "Lets just get her to her room and checked over by some nurses to be sure. You can never be too sure."

Beifong touched the shoulder of his orange and yellow airbender clothes. "I couldn't agree with you more myself, Tenzin." Then she crossed her arms. "Shall we?" She trudged forward down the dock and toward the island.

Everyone began to follow behind, but Mako kept an impatient pace. "I'm sure she's fine…" He said lowly as his stride began to match Beifong's.

She peered at him from the corner of her eye and then relaxed with slight sympathy. "She's strong. I wouldn't doubt it."

"She is." He said confidently as he stole a glace down at the unconscious watertirbe girl that he cradled in his arms. She seemed so peaceful there.

Tenzin swiftly led the way to the girl's dormitories and gestured a hand toward some stairs. "This way Mako."

Asami watched carefully as her boyfriend carried another girl toward where Tenzin directed him to go. She loved Korra, of course!…and she felt horrible for what had happened to her, but did Mako really have to be so overly concerned? Her jade eyes gave a flicker jealously as Mako left up the stairs and Tenzin told the rest of them to stay behind.

Fine, she understood. With everything that was going on, Korra needed the space for rest and recovery, but leaving Mako alone with the waterbender just set her on edge.

Mako followed as Tenzin directed, and carried Korra into her room, gently placing her on her bed and firebending the oil lap by her bedside to light.

Suddenly Tenzin appeared in the room with two females behind him. "These are the nurses for Korra. They will take over from here."

Mako squared his shoulders. "Can't we just let her sleep? She needs rest."

Tenzin raised his brows. "Mako." He folded his hands behind his back.

Mako sighed and took one last glance at the sleeping waterbender. "I'll be back, Korra." He muttered, lightly brushing his lips on cold forehead before he left the room.

Then the nurses went in and closed the door. Mako stood outside the door and waited impatiently.

Tenzin gave a look of concern when he noticed the over charged flare in his amber eyes. "Why don't you come down and eat dinner while you wait."

He met his gaze and crossed his arms, his brows still bunched on his forehead. "I'm ok Tenzin."

The bald man sighed. "Very well.." He gently swept his cloak and left down the hallway stairs.

Mako sighed, letting his face make a more worried expression as he began to lean against the wall and hide the bottom half of his face behind his scarf. He kept it drawn over his mouth with his head ducked low while gently rubbing his fingers over the scarlet material. Korra had to be ok. He just wouldn't have it any other way. She deserved to be ok. She was kind, bittersweet, strong-willed and fiery, always pushing herself to move forward. She was always striving, even if it meant that she would getting a little ahead of herself. Always… that Korra…and she never but her burdens on anyone. She carried her own weight and stood tall. Even when Mako had brushed her off for Asami…. Of course she deserved it. She deserved that and more…

How could he treat her that way when she was already going through enough as it was with just being the Avatar? Had he even ever thought to ask her how she might have felt with all that she has to deal with?

Mako sighed and the door to her room swung open. "Is-is she ok?" He sputtered abruptly.

One nurse smiled. "She's ok. Just a few bumps, bruises, and scratches. Other than that, shes just very dehydrated and hungry. She's asleep, but you can visit her now, if you'd like."

Mako squeezed through the doorway without a word and pulled up a chair next to Korra's bedside.

**So my intention is to only have 3 chapters….if anyone starts to want it to be longer and blend into the episode 10 type stuff, then i think i can do that….depends on what you guys would like. and i dont mind constructive criticism. so go for it! :p be truthful but not mean plzz xO lol :3**


	3. Pretend It Never Happened

**Note: Arrrg…x/ ok, so I'm thinking about maybe making this more than 3 chapters :3 because you guys seem to really like this so far. This chapter is a little more angsty. ^.^ it was fun writing it. I really hope that everyone stayed in character. I have a feeling that they did but just let me know if you guys think anything is a little off so I know what to work on. I tried to make this seem as realistic as possible so that it blends into episode 10. I hope you guys enjoy it ^^**

**And thanks for all the comments and favs guys :3 It makes me happy to know that you guys are really enjoying it so far.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Legend of Korra.**

Mako just sat there, never taking his eyes off of Korra, watching the slow steady rise and fall of her shoulders as she slept. He had never seen such a relaxed expression on her face, yet at the same time she seemed so tired, and that was something that he didn't like. If he could, he would just gather her up in his arms, anything to take the weariness from her shoulders.

He leaned forward the brush the pads of his fingers over the side of her face, relishing in the softness of her mocha skin. Amber irises scanned her features thoroughly and then made an abrupt stop at her hair. The nurses hadn't even bothered to untie her hair. He frowned at what he considered to be their lack of care and huffed with a groan. Then he stood, leaning over carefully and gently loosening her blue hair wraps. If no one was gonna care for her, then he would just do it himself. Holding the hair wraps in one hand, he used the other to lightly comb out her hair before he sat back down.

After a long moment of just watching her, Mako sighed, putting the hair wraps aside and leaning his elbows on the mattress. "I'm glad you're ok, Korra…" he muttered softly to the sleeping Avatar.

Little did he know that Asami, wondering what had been taking her boyfriend so long, decided to come up to Korra's room and check on him. She remained silent the entire time, refraining from stepping into waterbender's room, and there she watched him quietly. Mako, her boyfriend, was watching Korra like a hawk, like he was her protector or something. Since when had he ever been so focused on anyone? That was one side she had never seen from him before. Nothing existed except for him and the aqua-eyed watertribe girl.

She sighed and crossed her arms, leaning against the threshold. Her emerald eyes leered at the way Mako slipped his hand into Korra's limp one. Why was he still sitting there with her when the nurses had already announced that she was ok?

Then her ears perked as she heard him begin to speak.

The firebender's hand tightened on Korra's as whispered softly to her sleeping form. "You know…you really had me in for a scare there, Korra…" Eyes of topaz dimmed down to a flicker as he lowered his eyelids. "I thought I might lose someone important to me again…..when I found out you were…gone.." The last word came out with a quaver. He took a breath and sighed after admitting a personal truth of his. "…I felt so helpless…." His voice became quieter. "…like when I lost my parents…"

Asami couldn't bear to listen anymore. She didn't know whether to feel hurt, sympathetic, or enraged. All she knew was there was too much emotion here and she had to leave. His words alone made it easier to believe what Bolin had told her. She didn't want to believe it, but….she could see it now. There was no doubt in her mind that he had, in fact, kissed Korra and had an immense amount of feelings for her.

She didn't know what else the two of them did alone, but whatever it was, she wasn't going to witness it. With a turn of her heel, she turned away from the threshold and left the two alone in the bedroom.

Mako rested his forehead on the hand he was using to hold Korra's. Why did things have to be so complicated? Sure, he was with Asami, but…..he wasn't sure if he could really let go of Korra this time around. After suppressing his emotions for the Avatar for so long, trying to protect… who? Asami? Korra? Himself?….. He wasn't so sure, but he didn't think that he would be able to hold it back this time. He had thought that holding back would protect everyone and it wasn't until now that he realized that it was doing the complete opposite.

And he had gotten mad when Korra kissed him at the probending championships. She hurt his brother's feelings, but who was he to say that what she did was wrong? Who was the wrong one now? At least Korra had been honest with her feelings instead of continuing to lead Bolin on.

Mako gave a weary sigh, and Korra's hand gave a light twitch. He immediately picked his head up and stared at her with wide eyes. Was she waking up? He anxiously dragged his chair closer and sat up, keeping a firm grip on Korra's hand. Focusing on her face, he waited to see if she would wake up. His heart beat rapidly in his chest.

Korra shifted in her sleep. A distressed groan escaped her throat and her brows flexed.

Mako noticed a hitch in her breathing and scooted to the edge of his seat. "Korra?"

"No.." She gave a slight jerk and curled into herself, tightening her grip on his hand.

Was she having a nightmare? He could have sworn he remembered her talking about sleepless nights and nightmares once. He could tell she was in distress by the sudden tug of her brows and the tension in her shoulders. He had to wake her up, this was not something he wanted to see. If only he could reach her in her dreams…. "Korra…. Korra, wake up."

Her scowl deepened, a tear drifting down her cheek. "Tarrlok, no!" Her eyes shot open with a hitch in her breath as she instantly sat up, panting rashly and allowing aqua eyes to meet with topaz. "Mako.." she breathed dubiously. The waterbender flushed lightly, abruptly wiping the tear from her face and suddenly falling back into the mattress with a cringe. "Where's Naga?" she panted warily, seeking the comfort of her polarbear-dog and turning her eyes away with embarrassment. As long as Mako was there, she had to hold back on her fear, too proud to express it in front of him.

He spoke gently. "She's fine. Everything's ok. You're safe now." He gave her hand a light squeeze and then added his other hand.

Her gaze hesitantly drifted over to their hands and she slightly eased, giving him a weak smirk. "Thank you for being here…" Then she respectfully began to withdraw her hand. He was with Asami, she reminded herself.

The firebender refused to let go of her hand and his brows drew forward with sudden anticipation. "Of course…" He hesitated. "So, how are you feeling? Does anything hurt? I'm here for you, you know-"

"-Mako…" she cut him off and laughed lightly. "I'm ok." Her voice had a tired rasp to it, and she raised her brow. "Gee, what happened to that controlled composure of yours, Cool Guy?"

The corner of his mouth gave a light twitch as if to stifle a smirk. He frowned quite playfully. How dare she ask such a question as if it were that incredible. "Well what do you think? After hearing about how you blindly ran off, completely out of idiotic impulse and your overconfident will, storming with eyes closed into Tarrlok's grasp instead of being patient….." his jaw tightened as he trailed off with a loss of breath, his mood swinging from playful to angry.

Korra was about to fume with rage, until she noticed how tightly he had increased the grip on her hand. "Mako…" her eyes softened to that of a placid ocean, but she knew she shouldn't take his concern as anymore than that of a friend. Uncomfortable with the emotional intensity, she changed the subject and awkwardly cleared her throat. "Where's Tenzin? I need to tell him what happened at Tarrlok's cabin." She began to sit up and Mako instantly put a hand on her shoulder.

"Now, hold on a second. Stop being so quirky." He locked her confused gaze. "Why don't you just relax for a bit." It was a statement, not much of a suggestion at all, but more like a command. He didn't want her to go yet.

She frowned. "Look, it doesn't matter how exhausted I am, it's important that I speak with Tenzin." She had the urge to move again and Mako held her still.

"Would you be patient for once." He scowled deeply.

She shrugged away form his grasp. "Would you quit touching me!"

"Why? Did Tarrlok touch you?" He raised his voice tensely.

"What? Touch me?- No, gosh no." She returned the frown.

"Well you never had a problem with me touching you before!" He leaned forward, expressing his ire and feeling offended.

"Yea, well you never really touched me much before!" She also leaned forward, sporting an angry pout on her lip.

"Says the girl that kissed me!" He lightly curled his lip.

She flushed feeling embarrassed and repulsed. "We're not talking about this! Back off!" She shoved him back in his seat.

His chest flared with anger and a little excitement. "So you can touch me and I cant touch you?"

She leaned toward him aggressively and poked him hard in the chest. "Deal with it!"

"I cant…" With such close proximity, he grabbed the hand she had poking at his chest, and tugged her forward, locking lips with hers and closing his eyes. His hot anger flared into something more wistful and passionate, and Korra tensed in his grasp. What was he doing? As much as she knew it was wrong and as angry as she was, she didn't reject it, the warm tingle in her chest was intoxicating, and her heart was beating too fast. The moment his other hand cupped the back of her neck, she knew it was over. Her eyes drifted close and the feel of his lips whelmed her, gently moving against hers, coaxing her to give in. This was what she had been wanting and to his surprise, she gave in. With a small hitch of her breath her lips aggressively pushed against his as if trying to restrain an impulse that had been held back for so long.

She was gripping the front of his cloak, hungry for him, gently taking his lower lip into her mouth and feeling it with her tongue. He moaned and pressed forward causing a rush of excitement to waver and tingle throughout her body. "Mako…" She gave a slight gasp and he continued on, only allowing her that small intake of oxygen as he impatiently covered her lips once again. The sound of his name coming from her lips so breathlessly, made him even more excited. His hand tangled in her hair and massaged the back of her neck as he climbed halfway onto the small twin bed without thinking.

Suddenly Korra was pressed down into the pillow as his tongue began to demand entrance. Mako was losing his cool controlled composure and it was her fault….her and that alluring oceanic scent, only unique to a waterbender. He couldn't lose her again. She made a small shy sound and his pressed his body into her, pushing her into the mattress until a rush of heat shot directly from her chest to the spot between her legs. She jerked unexpectedly and broke the kiss, forcing a hand against his chest as she panted with wide eyes. "Mako! Wait…"

His amber eyes met hers, hooded and flickering like embers of topaz. That lusty look in his eyes was not something that she was used to, neither was the heat that radiated between their bodies. She couldn't think. She needed to think. What was going on? Her heart beat faster and she slightly panicked.

"Korra…" Concern dripped in his voice and his eyes became shy and hesitant. What was he thinking?

"What are you doing?" She avoided his gaze, still slightly out of breath. "We can't do this. This would hurt Asami so much…" She bit her bottom lip with hesitation, the soft flesh still swollen from kissing the firebender. The tip of her tongue swept across it, the taste of him lingering still.

Suddenly, flare in his eyes dimmed completely. He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry." He got off the bed and sat back in his chair, looking off to the side and scratching the side of his jaw with his index finger. How could he be such an idiot? Could her impulsiveness be rubbing off on him, or was he seriously that drawn to her?

She slowly sat up and brushed back her bangs. "I should talk to Tenzin now."

With lowered eyes, the fireneder nodded and fingered the material of his scarf. He couldn't bear to look at her after what he'd done. He was sure it was just hurting her more. He was so stupid. His brows flexed scornfully. "Korra…"

She looked at him as if nothing had happened, a simple change in her irises that seemed to have hidden the true emotions that she felt.

"About what happened…."

"Don't worry, I wont tell Asami. We'll pretend this never happened."

He raised his brows with anticipation. He didn't want to pretend. It was real to him….very real….but that irrefutable look in her face told him that she wanted nothing of it. That was the apparent end of that conversation.

She found her hair wraps and began to put her hair back up again.

His expression went back to its normal seriousness and he watched as she tied up her hair. Each fluid movement of her hands just reminded him more and more of what made her such a great waterbender, and with that he mentally sighed. The more he was with her, the more he couldn't stop admiring her. A girl that amazing deserved a guy just as amazing. If he wanted to prove himself to her, he was going to have to figure out what to do about Asami.

Korra finished her hair and stretch out her arms. "Let's go talk to Tenzin. I'm starving." She gave a put of disappointment and huffed.

Mako nodded and stood from his seat.

**o.0 errrr…. i know it sucks that Korra and Mako arent together yet but at least he's finally thinking about how to get rid of Asami lol go Makorra! As for the rest, Korra just isnt sure how to react to everything. She's too overwhelmed. Hope you enjoyed. :3**


	4. She was Korra

**Note: I thought I might add a bit of a tension relief in this chapter to help slacken the seriousness of the other 3 chapters. Just a little Makorra quarreling here and there…and maybe a bit of humor :3 I really hope that I portrayed the light mood ok in this one. I had fun writing it ^.^ so I hope you guys have fun reading it.**

**And thank you so much for the feedback. :3 It really motivates me to write more, and if you guys continue to really like it then I will definitely continue to write. 3**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Legend of Korra.**

Mako groaned as Korra stumbled into the stairway wall. "This was a bad idea." His eyes narrowed with ridicule as he held her shoulders to steady her.

"Shut up, Mako." She frowned.

"Korra, I don't think anyone is awake right now." His eyes scanned the stairway and the hallway up the stairs. "All of the main lights are off."

"Well I need to talk to Tenzin." She jerked out of his grasp and nearly stumbled down the stairs from fatigue.

Mako caught her by the waist. "Damn it, Korra! You're going back up to your room." He held her tightly from behind so that she wouldn't fall.

"Let go of me!" The watertribe girl rashly brushed him aside with a look of distaste and a huff of fire through her nose.

He flared. "What? So you can fall down the stairs?"

She kept her hands on the wall as she shakily made her way down the stairway. "Go back to your room, Mr. Hat Trick. I can handle myself."

He sighed and followed behind her, making sure that she wouldn't fall. "Riiiight…" He shook his head. "Look, I think maybe Tenzin wanted you to stay in your room and wait until tomorrow."

She was almost at the bottom of the staircase when she paused with a huff of exhaustion and looked around. "I have to tell Tenzin about Amon."

"Amon?" His brows pulled together and he walked up behind her a bit protectively. "You never said anything about Amon being there."

She glared at him from over her shoulder. "Maybe because you never asked me!" She quickly faced forward again and squared her shoulders, ready for the challenge of walking to the kitchen.

Mako lowered his eyes and fumbled with his scarf as the quirky waterbender began a precarious walk in the direction of the kitchen. He just followed behind her until she unsteadily leaned into a wall. The stubborn watertribe girl just would not listen to him. It was obvious that everyone had gone to sleep. The only lights that were on were the very dim lanterns for the nighttime. If Tenzin was going to talk to her, he was sure that he would have said something a long time ago.

He was unexpectedly torn from his thoughts the moment he heard her breathe tiredly and slowly start to sink down the wall. Immediately, he was by her side and slightly bending forward to drape her arm over his shoulders. "Korra…"

She glanced at him as if she might pass out.

His heart cringed at her weakness. "Let's go back upstairs. We can worry about this tomorrow. You need sleep."

Her azure eyes slightly brightened as she regained some of her energy back. "No, I need food."

He flexed his jaw sternly. "Then afterward you're going back to bed."

"I'm fine."

They turned a corner as Mako kept her arm draped over his shoulders, and entered the kitchen. Oddly enough, the lights were already on and they were standing face to face with Tenzin.

Mako's eyes widened and he cleared his throat. "Uh,Tenzin. Hi."

Tenzin raised his brow and clasped his hands behind his back. "Korra, shouldn't you be in bed?"

She withdrew her arm from Mako's shoulders and straightened her posture. "Tenzin, I had to talk to you."

He pursed his lips.

Her eyes drifted off to the side innocently. "And I was a little hungry…" She cleared her throat. "-Very hungry…" She met his knowledgeable gaze. "Starving?… I want leechie juice." Her shoulders slumped with a pout.

The airbender paused for a moment and then looked at Mako. "You couldn't contain her for a minimum10 minutes while you got her something small to eat and drink?"

"Well- I-" He cleared his throat for the second time. "Have you seen how stubborn she is?" He pointed at her in accusation.

She poked his ribs. "Watch it, City Boy!"

He fisted his hands with a scowl. "You're impossible!"

"You're improbable!" She crossed her arms and looked away.

"Korra…"

"I'm getting leechie juice." She stormed off toward the cupboards, leaving him behind with Tenzin.

He ran a gloved hand through his dark messy hair and sighed. "I'll get her to bed…" He shamefully pushed his hands into his pockets and stared at the ground.

Tenzin just stroked his beard and raised his brows. "Well, you best make sure of that. She is in no condition to be recklessly wandering about." His brow twitched. "Who knows what trouble she may cause."

His comment was answered by a loud crash coming from the pantry.

"Korra!" Mako was at the pantry in an instant followed by Tenzin.

The young Avatar was sprawled on the floor sitting up on one elbow and rubbing her head. An assortment of cans and dried goods were dispersed all around her and a container of leechie juice was in her lap.

Mako sighed and kneeled beside her, supporting her back with one hand. "What happened? Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, Mako. I just got dizzy."

Mako shook his head. "Quirky watertribe girl… Here, let me take this for you." He grabbed her leechie juice and stashed it in his coat pocket with a light smirk.

Her brow twitched at his expression. Any sort of smirk or upturn of his lips was quite rare for the firebender, unless it was because of Asami or probending. She wasn't used to it. "Uh, thanks… Mako." She returned the soft smirk and started to try and get up on her own.

Mako quickly stood and helped her to her feet, putting an arm around her waist to keep her steady.

Tenzin had already begun to pick up the mess. "Now, I believe this is the trouble which we were talking about." He said as he placed a few cans back on the shelves.

Korra held her arm and shamefully turned her eyes in the other direction.

Mako chuckled lightly.

Tenzin smiled. "I'll pick up the rest of this mess. There is bread in that bin over there on the counter. She can eat half a loaf." He waved both arms in the air and airbended the rest of the cans onto the pantry shelves.

Korra's eyes drifted worriedly about the room before settling on the airbender. "Tenzin…about Tarrlok…" She attempted to step forward, but only managed to awkwardly stumble into Mako's side. He tightened his grip on her waist and received a look of caution from Korra.

Tenzin closed the pantry door with a gust of wind from his cloak. "We will talk tomorrow, Korra. You and I both need the rest right now." He nodded at the way she needed the support of Mako just to keep her standing.

She frowned, realizing how helpless she looked. "I thought I told you to stop touching me." The obstinate waterbender squirmed out of Mako's hold and clumsily fell into the counter, trying to ignore the blurred edges of her vision. She knew Tenzin was right, but she hated the way it felt to be weak. Trying to maintain consciousness, she blinked her eyes a few times and lightly shook her head.

"Alright, that's it." Mako was already lifting Korra into his arms.

"Put me down, Mako. I'm fine."

"You're utterly incompetent." He sat her on the counter.

"I'm the Avatar!" She crossed her arms.

"Yea? Well to me you're Korra! So just sit tight and be patient while I get you some bread."

She huffed and looked at Tenzin while Mako paced over to the bread bin. "Oh, don't give me that look, Tenzin. I already know….be the leaf, patience and tranquility.." She waved her hand dismissively. "..all that meditation of an airbender nonsense-" She cringed and hesitantly looked at Tenzin. "I mean…uhhh…very important key points to the basic fundamentals of airbending…"

Tenzin raised his brow.

"Which I really need to work on…." Her shoulders drooped. "…so I'll just be patient until tomorrow?"

He touched his beard as he continued to stare at Korra. "Goodnight, Korra. Make sure to rest." He turned to exit the kitchen. "Maybe try listening to Mako." And with that he disappeared from the room.

Mako approached Korra and handed her a half of a loaf of bread.

"Thanks." She met his eyes timidly.

"No problem. You can eat it upstairs, come on." He reached out and she climbed into his arms without resisting this time. With a well of pride in his chest, Mako made a mental note of that fact.

Korra looked up at him calmly, intrigued by the amber that burned in his eyes. "And, Mako…"

He raised his brows.

"Thanks again….for helping me." Her eyes drifted away shyly as she fumbled with the bread. "I have a feeling that you're the one that took my hair down earlier…and….well, it's nice to know that someone sees me as more than just the Avatar…" She swallowed lightly and bit her lip.

Mako just stared at her a moment, watching the way she bit her lower lip. He never expected her to say something like that. It was as if all of her protective walls had been momentarily pulled down.

She glanced at him hesitantly as if not knowing what to expect.

"Of course." His flarey eyes met with her oceanic ones. "You will always be Korra to me."

She smirked softly and rested her head on his chest. His heart thudded warmly. Could she hear it change pace? The thought of it just made him nervous, so he quietly began the walk back to Korra's room.

He admitted to himself that he was a coward. It was true, but he was going to make sure to fix things. He wasn't sure how he should deal with Asami, but he would fix this. He had strong feelings for Korra and it was about time he stopped running. He wasn't sure how….but he was going to figure it out.

**Don't be afraid to review ^.^ I really enjoy the criticism. If you think I need to work on anything just let me know. :3**


	5. Unmasked Tensions

**Sorry this one took me a little while to finally post…umm….ahem… ok, so this chapter is a bit of a recap that kind of helps explain what some people here are feeling and all that jazz so….. thats why it took me little while to write it. There's some slight humor in it, but this chapter is mainly a set up for the chapter to come ^.^ which….you guys will, in fact, love…or "like" *shrugs* whatever floats your boats….errrr…yeah :p hopefully I get the next chapter done by tonight, but bear with me here. I worked hard on trying to make this chapter flow and correspond with ep10.**

**Thanks for all of the reviews and favs! :3 you have no idea how stoked I am…*spazz spazz spazz*...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Legend of Korra.**

Once Mako and Korra had gotten back to the bedroom, they didn't say much at all. Mako had remained inert, leaning against her nightstand as he sat in the chair that had been pulled up to her bedside. He silently watched as she scarfed down the half loaf of bread and gulped down the entire container of leechie juice. He just wanted to make sure that she finished everything before he decided to call it quits for the night.

His head lazily rested atop his fist as he drew his scarf halfway over his chin. Mako was extremely tired. So once the teenage waterbender had finally finished her food and lied down, he was quite relieved. She had no trouble dozing off after all she had been through. She never even questioned Mako about the way he monitored her as drifted off to sleep. She just closed those aqua eyes of hers and passed out. He turned out the light once she was in slumber and whispered a 'goodnight' before kissing her on the cheek. Her sleeping form looked so peaceful. Would that peace be disrupted? Would she toss and turn to another nightmare if he just left her there alone? The idea had troubled him. So, without thought, he slowly slid the red cashmere scarf from around his neck and draped it over Korra's bare shoulders. The significant article of clothing had always made him feel safe every time he'd begun to miss the presence of his mother and father. Maybe it would help Korra feel safe too.

After one last glance at the beautiful mocha skinned watertribe girl, he finally resided to curling up and sleeping on the floorboards of her room. Some part of him just couldn't bear to leave her alone anymore, and that was where he slept.

The next morning, Korra slightly squirmed as she slowly came to consciousness. With a flex of her muscles and a roll of her shoulders, she had realized how right Tenzin had been about her need for rest. She felt a little better that morning, still very fatigued, but better.

After stretching out her legs a little, Korra curled back into herself, eyes still closed, and nuzzled her pillow. Gosh, she had forgotten how soft it was! She took a deep breath and then froze. Masculine spice and cinnamon? She opened her eyes and frowned. There was a disturbed sea in her irises as she looked down at her pillow and what had been tangled in her hand as it trailed off over her shoulder. Mako's scarf? She bolted up right in her bed and dragged the scarf away from her pillow and off of her shoulder. Why would he give her his scarf?

With a blank expression in her aqua eyes, she gently kneaded the scarlet material between her fingertips with curiosity and brought it back up to her face. It was so soft….and it smelled just like him… A light blush warmed her cheeks as she took another small whiff. She was then interrupted as her eyes came across the form of the obnoxious firebender sleeping on the wooden floor….Well, to her he was obnoxious, anyway…thinking that he could just boss her around all the time…

She slowly lowered the scarf and relaxed her expression. He had just been trying to take care of her. She sighed and looked away from the sleeping firebender as she started to fix her hair. She just wasn't used to being taken care of like that. She usually took care of her own problems and did things on her own.

After she finished her hair, she got off of the bed and slowly walked over to him, scarf in hand. Then again….maybe it kind of felt nice to be cared for, for once. She didn't want to admit it, but she knew she liked it. She liked the way he would try to take control of a situation. So maybe it was ok to let him be right for once…He was the only one that was persistent and would boldly challenged her will. To her it was exciting as much as it was annoying. She enjoyed the challenge.

Korra mentally shook herself and crossed her arms, dropping the scarf over the firebender's face. He jerked and sat up in an instant, his scarf falling into his lap. "Huh? What? What is it?" His brows bunched together as he rapidly scanned the room without knowing what he was looking for.

"You slept on the floor?" asked Korra, slightly tilting her head and twisting her mouth to the side with an incredulous frown.

"Um…" His amber eyes spotted her feet and slowly made there way up to her face. He raised his brows. "Korra… you're awake."

"No, I'm sleeping with my eyes open."

He frowned already preparing to retort, but she caught him off guard with a smirk and a glint in her oceanic eyes.

"You lent me your scarf." She nodded at the red cloth in his lap. "Why?"

He stalled and nervously scratched the side of his head. "Well…"

"Just wondering." She saved him the embarrassment and adjusted one of her armbands. "I was beginning to think it was something important…" She glanced at him with raised brows. "You know…since you wear it all the time."

He repositioned the scarf to settle around his neck and brought the material up to his chin. "It belonged to my father…" He didn't look at her.

Korra's eyes softened empathetically. Already noticing the vulnerability in his eyes, she asked no further questions. She didn't know why he had lent her the scarf, but whatever the reason was it had to have meant a big deal to him. Touched by the idea, she reached a hand down to him with a smirk on her face. "Thanks, Mako."

His gaze shot up to look at her, a little surprised by the light expression on her face. He took her hand willingly as she helped him to his feet. "No problem." He brushed off his cloak.

"And no need to sleep on the floor next time, City Boy. I'm pretty sure I'll be ok after this mornings breakfast." She put her hands on her hips. "You know how great Pema's cooking is."

He smiled.

"Let's go talk to Tenzin." She took a couple of steps toward the threshold and nearly stumbled into the wall.

Mako was already grasping her by the shoulders.

She sighed. "I guess not all of my strength is back…I still feel a little light headed.."

Mako raised his brow. "And yet you still manage to make remarks and sudden rash decisions."

She looked up at him with a frown. "Are you trying to get on my bad side?"

"Oh, I wasn't already there?" He raised his brows sarcastically.

She nodded. "Good point. I'm glad you're catchin' on. Now, let's go talk to Tenzin. I'm starving." She squeezed out of his grasp and boldly sauntered out the door.

Mako sighed and shook his head, shoving his hands into his pockets with his brows tensely bunched on his forehead. That infuriatingly stubborn, overconfident, zealous, smartassed, beautiful,…and unmistakenably alluring watertribe girl was gonna get what was coming to her… She had no idea what she did to him…She had not the slightest idea of how he felt about her, or how much he realized he had missed talking with her ever since he started dating Asami. She had no clue…

When Mako and Korra had arrived in the dining area, they were greeted by the enticing aromas of breakfast food. Korra had been relieved by the chance to finally eat, and even more relieved once she'd finally finished everything. She even admitted to the fact that she was starting to feel like her old self again. Mako had internally smiled at the idea, but then instantly became tense the moment she explained everything that happened with Taarlok. With his elbows on the table and his hands tensely folded, he listened as she told everyone about how Taarlok was Yakone's son and that was why he could bloodbend without a full moon. Tenzin had been repulsed by the idea, and even more repulsed once he found out about how Amon had shown up and taken Taarlok's bending. The worst part was that Amon had tried to take Korra captive. The entirety of it all just left Tenzin to be quite worried, and Mako didn't like how that had taken effect.

If both Tenzin and Beifong were worried, then that would mean they probably had tons of uncertainties. What were they to do if Amon and his band of Equalists attacked Air Temple Island and tried to capture Korra again?

With a frown on his face and a touch of his beard, Tenzin stood and clasped his hands behind his back. "Do excuse Lin and I while we have a talk of necessary precautions."

Beifong stood without hesitation as if they were both on the same wavelength. "Anything can happen at this point. I suggest you all stay close by." She turned toward the door. "Tenzin."

"Help Pema with cleaning up the table." Said Tenzin.

Bolin pouted, green eyes shining like a puppy polarbear-dog. "Wait, we're done eating?" His head drooped. "But I was still hungry and Korra ate most of everything." He rubbed his belly.

Tenzin shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Oh brother…" He took a breath and rubbed his baldhead. "Mako, keep an eye on Korra. We won't be long."

Korra set her cup of tea on the table with a look of ridicule. "What is he? My babysitter?" She was almost poking him in the face with the way she was pointing at him.

Mako grumbled and shoved down her hand. "Quit pointing at me."

Tenzin and Beifong just left without a word.

Asami had already started helping Pema while Bolin ate the leftovers.

Korra narrowed her eyes. "Deal with it!"

"Watch your mouth!" He scowled, remembering what happened the last time she had said those last three words.

She raised her brow. "Maybe you should watch yours!"

Asami huffed as she gathered the last of the dishes. "Figures…" Considering that kiss Bolin had told her about, maybe Mako should be the one watching his mouth. She turned and walked out the room and into the kitchen.

Mako groaned and shook his head. "Just wait here while I get you more tea." He grabbed the teapot and got up, walking to the kitchen.

Bolin finished up the last bit of bread and glanced at Korra. "He's not so bad you know.

"Pfft! Riiight.." She stood up and crossed her arms. "I'll be back. I'm gonna go look for Naga." Then she walked off in the other direction just as Pema was entering the room.

Bolin smiled. "Oh hey, Pema. Thanks for letting me eat the leftovers. Your cooking is delicious!"

"You're welcome, Bolin." She rubbed her belly and leaned over to him. "Though I suggest we leave while we can. There's a bit of a quarrel in the kitchen. It seems Asami and Mako needed a nice talk…" She cringed and headed out the room.

Bolin blanched at the topic. Mako was going to kill him if he found out that he told Asami about the kiss…. What else he supposed to do? He figured someone had to be honest here…

"She was taken by a crazy bloodbender! How did you expect me to act?"

Bolin heard as his brother raised his voice from the kitchen. He instantly jumped to his feet and tugged nervously at his collar. "Hehehe…Errm.. Right behind you Pema!" He instantly dashed out of the dining room.

In the kitchen, Mako and Asami continued to argue. She accused him of keeping the truth from her. What could she have possibly been talking about? What truth? Did she know that he liked Korra? He mentally frowned to himself as he prepared his remark. That was a stupid question to think about. She kept accusing him of having feelings for her. Of course she knew he liked Korra, but how? It wasn't like they kissed in front of her or anything.

Ok, he admitted it to himself, maybe he was a bit overprotective of Korra before and after she went missing, but what did Asami expect? Korra was important to him! Of course she was! Hello? They had been teammates and friends long before he had even known Asami's name. Korra was just…well…Korra….She was amazing, and though she lacked the spirit in her bending, she was full of so much of it. It was overwhelming. She didn't deserve to be bloodbended and battered by such a cheap move….It must have really scared her and that alone was enough to make him flare.

He sighed and focused on Asami, attempting to cool the flames. "Look, things are crazy right now. Can we deal with our relationship problems later?" He walked over to touch her hand.

She jerked her hand away. "Well there might not be any relationship to worry about later!" Asami stormed off and left the firebender in the kitchen. She ignored him when he called her name one last time. How dare he sit there and lie to her face and deny that there was anything between he and Korra! It was so blatantly obvious that there wasn't even a point in defending against the accusation.

Maybe things would have been different if he had at least been kup front and honest to her about the kiss…but now?….Asami didn't even know anymore.

After Asami had stormed out of the kitchen, Mako resumed to heat up tea for Korra. Hopefully she hadn't heard them arguing. He didn't want her to think that he wasn't gonna try to end things with Asami. It was just….he really didn't want it to end like that. He wanted to do it with less betrayal and pain for green eyes girl. He just didn't want to hurt anyone anymore. Asami didn't deserve the pain and at the same time Korra didn't deserve to carry any more weight than she already had to. She was strong, but even a strong Avatar was only human…

**And scene! lol umm…not the most intriguing of chapters since its more of a buildup/ set up sorta thing, but…. i hope you guys understand….and i think you guys may possibly thank me later after ch6 is done. *whew!*…well I guess its back to work for me and getting my LOK shnazz research on…since its gotta be as ligit as possible. hope you guys continue to enjoy this.**

**Dont be afraid to comment. It actually helps me a whole lot when you guys tell me what you like and mayb even what you might want…..unless you prefer my choice of surprises lol. thanks guys ^.^**


	6. Only Human

**Wow…I actually had a bit of a hard time writing this chapter. I know a lot of you guys really wanted something a little steamy….arg and it's just so hard to make it that way without going overboard lol because then it wouldn't really correspond with the show too well and both Korra and Mako would be way out of character….and if there's one thing i hate most, it's when they lose character which causes everyone to forget that it's more than just about 2 ordinary people. It's about the romance and how it balances out with the seriousness of Korra taking on her Avatar duties at the same time. That's why its angsty, because it's frustrating lol**

**Well I hope I did a good job on this chapter. I tried to make it a little more steamy while keeping it real with the characters at the same time. The entire thing is all Makorra…..so I hope you enjoy :p**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Legend of Korra.**

Korra was perched on the ledge of her windowsill with one knee bent up against her chest and the other leg hanging down, foot planted on the ground. She lazily rested her forearm on her bent knee and sighed down at the view of Republic City. How in the name of all spirits was she supposed to fix such a large city?….She was only one person, and although she knew she had people that were there for her, she still felt alone somehow.

So, how on earth did Aang do it?….He fixed the world…

Korra angrily flexed her jaw and cursed herself. How could she be such an idiot? Not only did she not know what to do, but there also wasn't a damn thing she did right. She had almost been captured twice and the other time someone had actually succeeded. Though she had gotten away each time, it had left a terrifying chill down her spine. She could see her weaknesses and it suddenly made her feel small and vulnerable. Korra was no more than a 17 year old girl…

What if Amon really had captured her? What if he was coming now? He could be anywhere…and she was the Avatar. She was what he wanted specifically. Breaking her would be the perfect display for a loss of hope…And then what? What would he make of her? Some sort of symbolic sacrifice? Korra shuddered. Fear was something she normally could put aside with ease, but this time…that was nearly impossible. This time, she had nowhere to run. No one to turn to…. No where to stay safe…

The lonely waterbender pressed her face into the crook of her arm and shut her eyes tight as they burned with tears of frustration…What was she supposed to do?….It was all too much and now Amon really was after her…

There was a groan from the doorway. "I've been looking all over for you, Korra."

She swiftly wiped her eyes and turned her head toward the firebender at the doorway. He held a teakettle in one hand and a teacup in the other.

Mako scowled. "I thought I told you to wait for me! You don't listen to anything, do you?"

She stared at him, a blank look in her aqua eyes. "Listen to what?"

He hit the teacup against his forehead and growled. "Exactly." He started to walk toward her from across the room. "You know, you should really start listening when people tell you that you need to wait!"

She scowled, a storm tossing that ocean in her eyes. "I was just looking for Naga! Quit scolding me! I'm not a kid!"

"Well you sure act like one! Who knows what could have happened to you!"

She internally cringed; thinking of ways Amon could have kidnapped her. "…go away, Mako…" Her voice was hardly audible as she turned away from him and rested her chin on her knee.

Mako stared for a second, seeming confused. "You're being ridiculous." He was standing right beside her now, frowning at her attitude.

Her eyes cut at him icily. "Ridiculous?" she shouted in disbelief. Everything she had to deal with and she was being "ridiculous"? Like hell she was!

Mako's eyes softened as he stared down at her, her glare not fazing him in the slightest. There was no fire there.

Confused by his expression, Korra tensed. "What, Mako?" It came out a bit angrily.

He calmly sat down beside her on the windowsill, never taking his eyes off of hers. "Korra, what's wrong?"

Her troubled oceanic eyes immediately tore away from his gaze, and she turned her focus to the view of Republic City. "Nothing, I'm fine."

"You've got dried tear tracks down the side of your face and glossy eyes and you're telling me you're fine?"

"Leave me alone…" She said it, but it didn't come out as if she really wanted him to leave. Truthfully, she didn't, yet at the same time she did. He was her friend and she wanted him there, but he was also Mako…..and…she really liked Mako. He was still with Asami. To have him get so close to her emotionally and not be able to really keep him that close would just tear her to pieces.

To him it didn't sound like she wanted him gone, so he stayed, not wanting to let her out of his sight anyway. He poured her a cup of tea and held it out to her. "Here, I brought you more tea. It's chai."

She quietly accepted the cup and continued to gaze outside.

The18 year old firebender placed the teakettle on the windowsill between the two of them and watched her with calm eyes of liquid amber. The ends of her dark brown hair flowed slightly as the air gently moved from outside.

Korra took a small sip from her tea and tensed her shoulders. "I don't get it…" A light breeze pushed a tuft of hair from her bangs as she pressed her mouth into the crook of her elbow.

Mako raised his brows with interest.

"How do you do it?…." She whispered, still gazing out the window.

"Do what, Korra?"

"You're just…you're so much better when it comes to control. You're so calm and cool about everything….You're so precise. You're amazing." She turned her eyes in his direction. "I just…I don't get how you do it. You always know what you're doing when you have to get something done….I….I admire you, Mako…" She admitted quietly.

"Korra…"

"No, I'm not done..." She stared down into her tea and sighed. "You would be so much better at this than I am. I make a horrible Avatar…I cant do anything right. How am I supposed to take control of this situation when I can't even take control of myself? I don't know what I'm supposed to do! I don't know how I'm supposed to defeat him!-"

"Korra-"

"No! You didn't see how he resisted Taarok's bloodbending, Mako! It's like hes invincible! What the-?"

"Korra!"

She froze, midsentence, and chest lightly heaving. There was terror in her eyes and a loss of self-control.

Mako brushed his knuckle along the bottom of her chin and lifted it slightly. "Even I am not always in control, Korra…" He lowered his eyes.

She gently took his and away from her chin and furrowed her brows curiously. "What do you mean?.."

His amber gaze touched hers shamefully and his brows slanted upward. "I…I didn't know what to do with myself the moment I found out that Taarlok had taken you…..b-bloodbent you…Korra.." He scooted closer, out of instinct, as if she might be taken from him at any given moment. He took the teacup from her hand and set it aside. "When…When you went off looking for Naga earlier, I-I panicked…..I noticed that you weren't where I'd left you and….and so many things had crossed my mind…I mean, w-what if you had been taken again? Would you be ok? Would you be scared? What was I supposed to do? I-I felt so lost…I… I'm not used to feeling so helpless. What could I have done?" By that point, so much emotion had welled up in the firebender's chest that he failed to realize how much closer he had gotten to her. His hand was bunching into a fist at the pant of her bent knee as the thumb of his other hand brushed her cheekbone.

She blushed unexpectedly and stared with awe. "Mako…"

His hand gently swept down the side of her face and caressed her neck. "Korra… you are my loss of control…." His voice came out in a half whisper as if to hold something back, and he moved even closer to her, slightly standing, anything to make her more tangible. "…I don't know how you do it…and I don't know why…" His hand unfisted from her pant leg as he reached up to cup the side of her face, his eyes now molten pools of amber. "…it's just the way you drive me crazy…" He was standing now, leaning into her, ghosting his lips over hers as she watched his eyes hypnotically. He gripped the back of her neck and tilted her mouth up to his, barely tasting her. "Sometimes you just make me so angry, Korra…..because I can't control myself anymore…" His lips pushed against hers, gentle, but hungry, pressing himself into her and holding her by the hip with one hand. She pushed back at him with just as much hunger, gripping onto his waist solely for the sake of touching him. He made a soft sound as pulled her to her feet, lips still on hers, and pressed her into the wall. Their bodies melted together so perfectly. He leaned in closer, nestling his hips against her thigh and slightly breaking the kiss to nibble at her delicate lower lip.

She panted. "Mako….we've gotta stop doing this…" Her words came out halfhearted and breathless.

He silenced her with a kiss. "…yeah…..we do…" His lips tasted the shape of her jaw line and traveled down the side her neck. Her breathing hitched warmth in her chest and he kissed her lips again with a grind of his hips against her upper thigh. He gasped at the heated pleasure in his groin and held her tighter, taking the time to wistfully run his lips along the underside of her jaw. "Korra…"

Her heart jerked at the sound of him saying her name. It came out like a plea, and it just made her want him closer. She was too whelmed by the excitement to even think anymore. All she did was feel….the rush of her blood, the speed of her heart beat, the excitement in her chest, and the clench of her womb when his hand slid halfway beneath the hem of her pants. Her stomach muscles had constricted and she reached to grip the hair at the nape of his neck and kiss him deeply.

He groaned. "Korra, you're amazing…" He pressed his forehead against hers and let himself get lost in those oceanic tides. He could see it all if he looked close enough….everything that made Korra….and everything she was feeling at the given moment…He cupped her face with both hands and tried to calm his breathing.

The slight stall in time was enough to change the current of that ocean in her eyes, and with a light flush, she looked away. This was wrong….but in all the right ways…The distressed waterbender strained to calm herself down, but it was nearly impossible.

Mako knew that look in her eyes and his heart cringed with fear. "Korra…don't…"

Her eyes cut back at him, tears burning the edges of her eyes. "I did it again…" She frowned deeply.

He had never seen so much hurt and anger in her eyes before in any of his days spent with her.

"I reacted on impulse! Damn it, Mako!" she shoved at him, but he caught her wrists. A new flare lit her eyes, very different from the usual ocean embedded in her irises. "Stop it!" With one swift movement she planted her foot at his hip and used the other to push at his chest, shoving him back and breaking free from his grasp. His coat smoked lightly from an accidentally leaked flare. She stood there, looking down at him, her shoulders rising and falling at each angry breath she took. One foot was planted in front of the other, ready for a defensive stance, as her hands remained fisted at her sides. "Don't kiss me anymore…" She took a step back and bumped into the wall. Her eyes dolefully sought the ground. For once….she didn't want to fight…

Mako stayed on the ground where he had fallen and watched her. "Korra… I'm sorry…..but I promise you I wasn't lying. I meant it…."

"It doesn't matter, Mako…." She was still staring at the ground.

"Of course it does, because it's true." He frowned.

She scowled and curled her lip, fist becoming tighter in one hand. "No it doesn't, because you're still with Asami!" Her fist shot forward and a large chunk of the wall behind her flew across the room and smashed into the opposing wall, nearly hitting Mako along the way.

"Korra, stop!"

"You stop!" She pointed at him and a chunk of rubble flew toward his head.

Throwing up a fist he redirected it with a flame and rolled off to the side into a crouch. "Damn it, Korra! Calm down!"

"I'll show you calm!"

The surrounding walls began to tremble and Mako leapt forward and tackled her to the ground. She grunted angrily as he pinned down her arms. "Stop it, Korra, before you tear the entire building down!"

"Get off!" A flame lit the surface of the ocean in her eyes.

"Not until you relax!"

Angry and helpless, she kicked her feet, flames licking outward from her ire.

Mako just held her still, shamefully resting his head against her collarbone. "Korra, I'll fix it…" he said quietly. "I want you more than anything, and what you feel is not your fault…..It's mine…for being a coward…"

She stopped moving to listen to his words, her angst finally catching up to her. She helplessly closed her eyes and let a few tears fall slowly.

"Right now we've got a lot to deal with with Amon and the Equalists, but….I'm gonna fix this, Korra…" He picked his head up from her collarbone and used his scarf to gently wipe away her tears. "It's not your fault, Korra. None of this is, not even the stuff with Amon and the Equalists."

She opened her eyes calmly and listened.

"I'm sorry I kissed you like that. It was uncalled for, but I meant every bit of it…" His eyes turned away shamefully. "Look…we'll get through all of this together, ok? And I'm not gonna let Amon take you away from me." He got off of her and gently pulled her to her feet.

Korra took a breath and let it out in acceptance. "Ok, Mako. What's important right now is Amon."

"Right." He crossed his arms and took a look at the mess around the room. "You are quite the handful." He gave a slight smirk.

She returned the gesture. "Yeah, Tenzin's gonna kill me." There was a sudden roar of thunders and crashes. She could have sworn they sounded like bombs or something. She frowned.

Mako exchanged a glance with her. "What was that?"

"I'm not sure. Let's go check on the others."

Both benders sensing the need for urgency, bolted out the room without a moments notice.

**lol this was very difficult to write, but I hope you guys liked it and that it was worth while. ^.^ dont be afraid to tell me what you think, I am open to criticism…just dont be evil…. lol xD Thanks guys! I'm not sure when I will post chapter 7…it may be sometime before or right after the Season Finale….so hang tight ^.^ I will get back to this ASAP. The moment a great idea comes up :p**


	7. The Red Scarf

**Note: Ok guys….wow this took me a while to write, but I must say, I actually really liked how this chapter turned out. I hope you guys like it too. Its sweet, refreshing at some parts, and everybody is back in character lol I'm not sure when I will post the next chapter. It depends on when a good idea pops up ^^ Shouldn't be too hard. I just have to be patient with myself….which is actually a little difficult for me lol but I can manage. ENJOY!**

**Thanks for all of the favs and reviews guys ^.^ You really have no idea how happy it makes me. I appreciate it all.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Legend of Korra.**

As it turned out, the explosions and booming sounds of thunder had been the signs of a falling Republic City. Amon and his Equalists were executing their ultimate raid, their main target being the City Council. Luckily, Team Avatar had shown up to defend Tenzin and the council. Yet, even after their feat, they had returned home to Air Temple Island to be welcomed by another attack. The Equalists were desperate…desperate to have the Avatar in their non-bending grasp….desperate to get their point across by stripping the Avatar of her bending and rendering her helpless…

Fortunately, Amon hadn't got his hands on her, and Team Avatar, Tenzin, his airbender family, and Beifong had all escaped in the nick of time. Tenzin, his family, and Beifong escaped on their skybison, while Team Avatar took off on Naga and went into hiding.

Team Avatar had made their way across the ocean on Naga's back, and now they were standing in a large underground water drain, about to make their way into an underground city. They were to hurry into the underground the moment after their escape, but Korra hesitated and stood along the edge of the water drain. Her aqua eyes stared across the sea at what used to be her new home….Republic City and Air Temple Island….There was smoke and Equalist air ships polluting the place. She couldn't bear to look. It tore her heart to sit there and watch. She couldn't do a damn thing about it…. Not a damn thing.. She had to wait, be patient, like Tenzin had advised, while people got their bending ripped away from them. With that thought, her doleful gaze sought the ground. At least Tenzin and his family had safely escaped.

Her brows pulled together as her sadness turned to frustration, and there was a hand at her shoulder. Her gaze shifted to her right and met with warm amber irises. The firebender's gaze dripped with sympathy.

"Korra, we should get going…" said Mako quietly.

She lowered her eyes and turned to walk with him deeper into the water drain. He kept his arm around her shoulder.

Bolin and Naga follwed after them, but Asami followed at the tail end with her green eyes narrowed and her arms crossed. She was going to lose Mako to the waterbender. She felt it as if it were something inevitable, but what made her so angry was the fact that she just wanted Mako to be up front and honest already. Then again…when was a guy ever up front and honest when a girl needed him to be?

Mako kept his burning gaze upon Korra during the entire walk through the drain water. He could see how troubled she was. He could feel the tension in her shoulders. The firebender pulled his brows together and took a short breath. "Korra.." He kept his voice very low so that no one could hear. "I just wanted to apologize again for earlier. You really don't need that kind of stress right now."

She hesitated, realizing that he was talking about the kiss. "Don't even worry about it. It's the past. Let's just forget it and worry about what's at hand." Her aquatic eyes stole a short glance at him.

His expression was tensed and inert, as usual, and he just nodded. He figured that that was the best idea for them both. He didn't like how he had come onto her about his feelings so strongly. He meant what he had said and did, yet at the same time it had been an accident. He didn't exactly understand how he should express himself. He either didn't do it enough for it to come across as much of anything, or he somehow went overboard.

Suddenly her shoulders flexed beneath his arm. He watched her from the corner of his eye as she began to ball her hands into tight fists. She couldn't get the thought of Republic City out of her mind.

He lightly squeezed her shoulder. "We'll figure something out."

She huffed. "I just-I wish that- If we could just- UGHH!" She lifted her fist as if she were about to punch someone and stomped in the drain water.

He squeezed her shoulder again. "Just relax. Remember what Tenzin said."

Her shoulders slumped with a sigh. "Patience…yeah, I know."

His amber eyes shifted to look at her and a smile teased the corner of his mouth as he noticed the pout on her lips. He found the expression to be quite intriguing and typically "Korra". He had realized that she tended to do that when her stubbornness came around.

"It's just…it makes me so angry! I'm the Avatar! I should be out there doing something!" She made a lot of expressive and aggressive hand gestures, waving her hands in the air and what not, all of the motions followed by some sort of splash from her feet.

Mako just gently held her in place as they walked, and rubbed her shoulder. "You will." He gave her a knowing look. "Just not this second." He raised his brow with a bit of sarcasm.

Then that soft pout returned to her face again.

He rubbed her shoulder in reassurance. "Amon will get what's comin' to him. You're the Avatar." He smiled down at her, waiting for her to look up.

Once she met his gaze, she smirked gratefully. "You're right, Mako."

Asami sighed at their friendly conversation, but Bolin jumped in excitedly. "Of course he's right, Korra! You are the awesomest Avatar ever!" With a jubilant dash, he splashed over to her and gave her a nudge with a large boyish grin. "Who cares if you can't airbend yet! You still kick butt!"

Mako slapped a gloved hand to his forehead and frowned at the childish earthbender. "Watch what you say, Bo." He looked at Korra hesitantly.

The young waterbender was biting her lower lip in a way as if she were second guessing herself.

Bolin made a sad face. "Oh- sorry….well I didn't mean it like that.. I just.." He slightly slowed his pace and looked around for Pabu, who was sitting on Naga's head.

Korra gave a selfless smile. "No, it's ok, Bolin. I'm fine."

Mako kept his eyes on the young Avatar and fidgeted with his scarf with his freehand. He couldn't decide whether or not he should lend it to her. Did it even make her feel safe and comforted the way it did to him? Unsure, he just let out a breath of air as they continued onward.

After a long bit of walking, the Team Avatar had finally found the underground city and was kindly greeted by Gommu, the hobo Korra remembered she had met when she first arrived in Republic City. He gave them a quick tour of the underground city and then led them to an area where they could finally rest.

With everything that had currently happened, Korra wanted nothing to do but rest. What more could she do anyway? At that present moment, they had to be patient and await the arrival of General Iroh and his fleet of ships. Sitting on the dirt floor near a small campfire, Korra sighed and hugged her knees to her chest. She gazed into the fire, resisting the urge to jump up and bolt out into Republic City to fight. How did that patience thing work anyway? It was just way too hard, in her opinion. Her bows pulled together as she rested her chin on her knees and allowed the reflection of the flames to dance in her eyes.

"You alright, Korra?" A gentle hand touched her shoulder.

Korra jumped at the sound of such a feminine voice and turned her eyes up toward Asami without moving. She cleared her throat. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, Asami."

Asami sat down on a dingy fold up chair as Korra directed her attention toward the campfire again.

Mako glanced over at the two of them as he and Bolin got things set up for when they were ready to finally sleep.

Uncomfortable with Korra's unsteady mood, Naga walked on over just to nudge Korra in the back with her large black nose. Korra jumped in surprise for the second time and chuckled softly. "It's ok, Naga."

The large polarbear dog gave the troubled waterbender a large lick along the side of her face.

"Naga, im ok." Korra laughed and took the polarbear dog's large muzzle into both hands and nuzzled the white fur on her head. "You know me too well, doncha girl?" She softly smiled and scratched behind Naga's ears. Naga whined happily and licked the Avatar in the face. Korra chuckled, scrunching her nose and wrapping her arms around Naga's neck. "Good girl, Naga."

Mako smirked at the scene between the waterbender and her native watertribe pet as he finished up the last of the sleeping area. "She really keeps a close watch on you, doesn't she?" He crossed his arms speculatively.

Korra picked her head up from Naga's white fur to look over at Mako. A soft satisfied smirk played upon her lips. "Yeah, I guess so. She was all I had ever since I had lived down at the South Pole." She turned to Naga and tousled her fur with a grin. "Isn't that right, girl?" Naga panted happily and lied down, pushing her head into Korra's lap. Korra wrapped an arm around Naga's neck and leaned forward to rest on top of her white furry head. The waterbender's expression calmed again and she gazed back into the fire.

Asami smiled at Korra and her polarbear dog. "You two certainly are the best of friends."

Bolin grinned and sat across the fire. "Yeah, just like me and Pabu. Isnt that right, Pabu?" He lifted the red fireferret and nuzzled his fur.

Mako raised his brows at Bolin and then walked over to sit beside Korra. Sitting next to Asami was not something even wanted to consider after how snappy she had been since their argument at Air Temple Island. He knew they were walking on thin ice. Their relationship was not gonna hold much longer. If only he could have ended it differently…

Asami noticed where the firebender had decided to settle and looked away indifferently. "Well I'm gonna head off to bed. It's been a long day." She stood up, wishing everyone a goodnight and walking off to her sleeping mat.

Mako sighed, sitting Indian style and resting his elbows on his knees.

Korra gave him a bit of a worried glance, but kept her head on top of Naga's. Apparently he and Asami had had a fight, she supposed. He and Asami had had this odd tension ever since they had left Air Temple Island. Korra didn't understand what had happened between the two of them, yet, frankly, she didn't want to know either. She wasn't sure if she would like the reason behind it so she just left it alone.

Bolin cleared his throat awkwardly as he remembered what he had told Asami. "You know maybe I should sleep too. Pabu is way tired. I think he needs his beauty sleep." He held the fireferret in his arms and stood. Pabu squirmed from his grasp and scurried around the campsite with a jolt of energy. Bolin laughed nervously with a hand behind his head, and then slumped his shoulders.

Korra just raised her brow at the spazzing fireferret as she kept her head on Naga. It didn't seem like the fireferret was very tired, to her.

Bolin sighed, avoiding Mako's gaze completely. "Night guys! Oh, and I hope you feel better Korra. We've got you're back!" He grinned.

"Thanks, Bo." She said with a light smirk as she gazed into the campfire.

"Night bro…" He walked far off to where Asami lay and settled on his own sleeping mat.

Mako just sighed and then glanced at Korra. The young waterbender looked extremely stressed, in his eyes. Yet, at the same time she seemed so tired the way her eyes gazed into the fire so heavy-liddedly. Watching how one of her hands limply rested atop of Naga's head, he decided to reach over in attempt to touch her mocha skin, but before he could get a finger on the back of her hand Naga grumbled.

The polarbear dog lifted its large head, suddenly, startling the Avatar. "Woahhh, Naga!"

The firebender blushed and instantly withdrew his hand.

Korra looked Naga in the eyes and noticed her staring at Mako. She cocked her head at Mako and rubbed Naga's snout. "What did you do?"

He tugged at the collar of his coat as if to let in some cool air and let his eyes drift over to focus on the slowly dying flames of the campfire. "I was just reaching over toward you." Gosh, he hoped that she didn't think that he was trying to make a move.

Her brows slanted upward with ridicule as she observed his surreptitious behavior. With a slight pause, she twisted her mouth to the side in question. "Hm….Well, I should sleep. Big day tomorrow with all this _patience_ and _waiting_." She rolled her eye and stared off to the side, one arm still secured around Naga's neck. "Night, Mako. Let's go, Naga." The polarbear dog stood up and helped lift Korra to her feet as she held onto its neck.

"Korra, wait." Mako quickly got to his feet and walked over to stand in front of her. He hesitated, eyes of topaz meeting with those of sapphire. "I just…I wanted say that…" He took a moment to rub the beck of his neck. "You shouldn't think about everything so much. The key to your patience and stability is keeping a clear mind. I can tell that you're battling yourself….and I just want you to know that it's gonna get better. We're gonna figure something out and…. you know I've always got your back, Korra.." He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and met her shy gaze.

She placed her hand on top of his and gave him a soft smile. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Mako."

"Um…one more thing…" He swallowed hard and stalled a bit before reaching to slide the red scarf from around his neck. His eyes met her confused ones quite nervously, and he carefully placed the scarf around her neck. "There, you can borrow it." He took a step back and quickly shoved his hands into his pockets, hunching his shoulders as if to cover up his lack for wear.

Korra hesitated tremendously, a bit flustered by his sudden gesture. "Mako…" She curiously lifted one end of the scarf with a timid hand and softened her gaze upon the very anxious firebender. He couldn't even look at her. Her heart pounded a bit frantically, itching to reach out and pacify his sudden unease. "Mako, this was your father's scarf..."

He fake-coughed into his fist as scarlet tinted his cheeks and trailed over the bridge of his nose. "You can borrow it for the night." His eyes wandered a bit anxiously, his loss of composure seeming very abnormal to the Avatar. "It usually makes me feel more secured and safe because it belonged to my father….and it reminds me of him, but….maybe it will have the same affect on you as it does on me…"

Her brows slanted upward questioningly as she fumbled with the red material. "Remind me of your father?…" She suddenly cocked one brow.

"What?- No!.." He sighed and slapped a palm to his head.

Korra portrayed a skittish smirk and brought the red cashmere up to her face so that she caught his scent. "I'm kidding, Mako."

His eyes met with her playful gaze and he smiled shyly. "I just thought that maybe it might help keep your mind off of the war and instead, maybe you will remember what I told you about keeping a clear mind."

"And that you've got my back." She gently socked him in the chest.

He grinned. "Right." It was true, he wanted it to help remind her of him and how to keep a clear mind, but he also hoped that it would help to prevent her from having any nightmares if maybe just the scent of him was with her.

Suddenly he was being embraced tightly, an oceanic scent jolting his senses as Korra gave him a squeeze. "Thanks, Mako…ahem…" She took a quick step back and fidgeted with the scarf. "I will make sure to return it first thing tomorrow." She smirked.

"Anytime." He rubbed his neck, feeling awkward without the comfort of his scarf.

"Have a goodnight, City Boy." She waved a hand and began to walk off in the direction farthest from the camp.

"Night, Korra." He smiled. "You know, if you need me or anything…" He trailed off.

She gently tugged Naga forward and glanced back at Mako. "I'll be ok, Mako." She brought his scarf up to her face and raised her brows for emphasis as she backpedaled farther away from the camp and finally turned her back on him. Naga followed her, closely behind.

Mako ran a hand through his hair with a huff of air and started walking over to his mat near Bolin and Asami. Korra sure liked her space, didn't she?….Or maybe she was just used to being alone…. Mako didn't like that possibility very much. He didn't want her to feel alone.

Before settling down onto his sleeping mat, Mako constantly fiddled with the collar of his coat. It felt so odd without his scarf. He wasn't used to feeling more of the air around his neck, it just felt like something was missing.

"Your scarf."

Mako jerked and instantly spun around to see Asami lying awake on her mat. "I thought you were asleep." He boredly looked away and adjusted his coat before settling down on his sleeping mat.

"I thought you never took that scarf off for anything." She narrowed her eyes and mumbled under her breath. "..or _anyone_…"

Resting on his back, he sighed and folded his hands behind his head. "I don't."

"You didn't take it off for me when I bought you a new scarf."

He groaned and turned his back on the green-eyed beauty. "This isn't important right now. Let's just deal with this later."

"You gave it to Korra, didn't you?"

He scowled. "I didn't give it to her. I just let her borrow it."

"Potato, po-tah-to."

Mako sat up on his palms with a groan. "Just drop it, Asami!" He whispered harshly, trying not to wake his sleeping brother. "Korra is going through a lot right now and I'm just trying to be there for her. She needs to stop thinking that she's alone when it comes to everything….I'm just trying to show her that she's not."

Asami sighed. "I don't think this is gonna work out anymore, Mako…"

He lowered his eyes. "I'm sorry, Asami…I never meant for any of it to go down this way…. Right now, we have a war to worry about."

"So I guess this is it then.."

Mako slowly lowered himself back down to his sleeping mat, feeling ashamed. "I guess this is it…" he said quietly.

Mako waited a moment for some sort of retort, but he only received silence. He wasn't proud of the way things had ended with Asami, but the damage was done, and there was no other choice but for it to end before things got worse. His main focus was Korra, and he knew that was never going to change. She was important to him and that was all that mattered. In fact, he wasn't even going to bother her with the fact that he and Asami were over now, because he didn't want her distracted. He just wanted to help give her the strength to win this war against Amon. Little did he know that lending Korra his scarf did just that, it gave her strength and peace of mind, and that night she had no trouble sleeping. That night, Korra felt at ease in the safe presence of Naga and the warm spicy scent of the red scarf that the firebender lent her.

And it smelled just like him….

**Whew! let me know what you guys think. :3 I had fun writing this one.**


	8. Her Solitude

**Note: This chapter took me a bit to write because it is a bit of a transitional type of chapter. I just wanted to kind of explain how some things could have possibly went while Team Avatar was staying down in the underground city. You see a lot of Korra's impatience and need for urgency, and you see how all of the characters kind of act with eachother when they're all together in the same area. I had fun writing small bits of dry humor in this chapter lol so hopefully that intrigues you guys enough to keep reading.**

**There will be about three more chapters after this one and I think you guys might enjoy them a little more. hehe I'm not sure, but I hope you guys like it. ^.^**

**Again, keep in mind that the purpose of this fanfic that I'm writing is to focus on how the romance is balanced out with Korra being the Avatar…and also on scenes that could have been in the show if it weren't so rushed. I try to explain some feelings that should have been explained as well. :3 ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Legend of Korra.**

The next morning, Mako was startled into consciousness by the feel of a cloth dropping over his face. His eyes shot open and all he saw was the red of whatever material was draped over his eyes. In an instant, his heart kicked up as he reached up to feel that it was his scarf. That had been exactly what Korra had playfully done that morning that he woke up on the floor in her room. Mako grinned and tugged the scarf from his face. "_Korra.._" His smile vanished as the sight of his brother standing over him took him aback. "Oh- Bo,it's you…" He blushed and his eyes shyly strayed away.

Bolin raised his brows and humorously fluffed the front of his hair with a dazzling smile. "Gee, am I really that beautiful?" He gave himself a once-over, moving his hips from side to side.

Mako instantly frowned and narrowed his eyes with a bit of irritation. Beautiful?…Well, Korra _was_ beautiful, but for some reason the fact that someone else saw her the way he did slightly upset him. He didn't really understand it….It was only Bolin, after all. He just brushed the feeling aside. He refused to get like that with his brother.

Bolin cleared his throat and gestured toward himself with unease. "I mean- ahem! Did I say beautiful? I meant extremely attractive but totally not my type." His green eyes focused on Mako with extreme wariness.

Mako sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, scorning the naivety of his brother.

Bolin looked off to the side. "I guess I should leave you alone now. Korra just told me to give that to you."

"Wait." Mako sat up, looking around and realizing that it was only he and Bolin. Where were Korra and Asami? He frowned and quickly got to his feet, brushing off his coat. "Where's Korra?" He mentally groaned. Why was it that every time he took his eyes off of her she was gone? She never stayed still, did she?

Bolin rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, she left with Asami to go ask Gommu about getting some food. 'Just you and me, bro." He sighed and tossed a thumb over to the side of his shoulder. "Pabu left me to go hang out with Naga." His eyes turned in the direction that he had pointed in and he narrowed his eyes. "That_ traito_r..." He pouted.

Mako just slanted his brows and ran a stressful hand through his hair. He had no idea why his brother had the tendency to ramble about other things other than what was important.

"They take for-everrrr!" Bolin's stomach growled and he rubbed his belly.

Mako's brow twitched with urgency. "Well how long have they been gone?"

Bolin smiled and waved a casual hand. "Oh not that long. I'm just _staarrrrving!_" He dramatically slumped his shoulders.

Mako relaxed with a sigh and started to reapply his scarf to his attire. His lips curved slightly into a smile. What would he do without such a goofball of a brother?

"Hey, Mako…"

The firebender redirected his gaze after fixing his scarf and noticed the way Bolin was shamefully rubbing the back of his neck. His eyes softened. "It's ok, Bo. I'm not mad at you for telling Asami about the kiss…" He dipped his chin and covered his mouth with his scarf. "The truth had to come out at some point."

Bolin threw up his hands with enthusiasm. "_Thank you! _That's exactly what I was thinking! Of course it was bound to come out, you're _in love_ with her!"

"What!" Mako's brows furiously bunched together as his face turned a bright shade of red.

"_Nothing…_" Bolin instantly raised his brows and took a safe innocent step backward. "I'm gonna be quiet now…"

"What makes you think _that_? – I never said that!" He growled and pointed at Bolin in accusation. "Watch what you say, Bo!"

Bolin cringed. "Sorry… ok, ok, ok…Well, I was just being honest…"

Eyes of topaz narrowed repulsively at the last statement. "Bo!"

"Alright, alright, I'm not talking anymore…" He zipped his lips.

Mako tensely crossed his arms and childishly stomped off. "I'm going for a walk."

Bolin sighed and crossed his arms. "I just don't get why being up front about how you feel is so hard. .." He watched as Mako walked away and off into the town. He knew the reclusive firebender was horrible with getting close to people, considering everything they had been through, but he knew he would finally face the truth at some point. He had to. Korra deserved to know, but he guessed that Mako probably had to face it himself first. He needed to understand the intensity of his own feelings.

Once Korra and Asami had finally returned back to the camp area, they set out the food on a grungy table that Gommu had let them borrow. They set up a few old fold-up chairs and sat down. Korra picked up a stale piece of bread and gave it a sketchy look. "I think I miss Pema's cooking already."

Bolin joined them at the table after finally retrieving Pabu. "Oooooh is that a sandwich?" He had already reached over the table and snatched the poorly made sandwich.

Korra scanned the group curiously and then turned her eyes to Bolin. "Where's Mako?" The idea of not having him around had slightly unsettled her. She was all too familiar with meeting the amber gaze of the firebender. To have him not there to awkwardly associate herself with made her a bit unsteady. "He should probably eat."

Bolin raised his brows. "Oh, he went for a walk." He took a large bite into his sandwich.

"But I'm back now."

Korra jumped at the sound of Mako from behind her and her heart gradually sped. She peered over her shoulder. "Hey, we brought back some food. Hope you're hungry." She grinned sarcastically. "We've got stale bread, old water, squishy grapes, and a few other distasteful things."

He hesitated for a second and then took a seat beside her. "Food is food."

Her eyes turned down shamefully as she remembered hearing small bits about his street life. "Mako, I- I didn't mean it like that…"

His hand discreetly touched her knee from under the table and when she met his gaze, he just lightly shook his head. "Don't even worry about it." His hand left her knee. "So what have we got here? I'm starving." He said, changing the subject. The truth was, he wasn't even upset about any of Korra's dry humor at all. His mind had just been acutely occupied ever since Bolin mentioned…the L word. That was what he felt for Korra, wasn't it? He just couldn't get the idea through his head. How? How could he possibly _love_ her? Then again, how could he not? He just wasn't sure how to make sense of it all.

"So, Gommu helped us come up with an idea…You know, something to do while we just sit here with all this _patience_ and _waiting_ and all of what ever else that requires doing nothing." Korra stared at Mako with interest as she ate her stale bread, hoping to get a satisfied reply.

Sitting on the other side of Korra, Asami leaned back in her chair and picked at the squishy grapes. "Yeah, I thought it was a great idea."

Mako slightly furrowed his brows in question. "What _idea_?" His eyes strictly focused on Korra as if she were about to do something reckless again.

She crossed her arms defensively as she sensed the challenge in his eyes. "Spying on the Amon and the Equalists so that we can keep up with what's going on in the midst of our _patiently doing nothing_…."

He leaned back in his chair, one arm over his chest and his other hand rubbing his chin. "That's actually not a bad idea."

Korra pridefully leaned back in her chair and raised her brow with a sly smirk. "Of course it isn't. Plus, it gives me something to do besides just sitting here under layers of earth all day."

"That's awesome!" Bolin swallowed down the last of the sandwich and wiped a hand over his mouth. "So we get to spy and sneak around and stuff? Like undercover agents…." He covered the bottom of his face and narrowed his eyes as if he were a suspicious character.

Mako kept an unrelenting gaze. "One problem, they're gonna know that you're the Avatar."

With a careless shrug, Korra brought up one hand and pretended to pick at her nail. "_No_ problem. We have chi-blocker uniforms." She stated bluntly.

Mako raised his brows. "That's brilliant." She never ceased to amaze him. It was like he always had to stay on his toes when he was around her….just like being in the pro-bending arena. She certainly was something else, wasn't she?

A bright smile lit her aqua eyes and she anxiously leaned on the table. "We should try them on and take 'em for a spin! Come on!" She began to excitedly rise from her seat.

Mako hooked his foot around the leg of her chair and jerked it forward so that she fell back into her seat again. "Now hold on a second." Mako crossed his arms and frowned. "Would you sit still for a minute!"

Korra huffed and slapped a palm on the table. "What _now_?" Her eyes narrowed stubbornly. She made a here-to-there gesture with both hands. "We should just _go_! Why waste anymore time. I am sick of sitting here and doing nothing!" She moodily rested her chin on her fist and leaned on the table.

"We can't just run out there when we don't even know how Amon has the chi-blockers organized throughout the city!"

Korra growled and put her head on the table with a thud.

Asami raised her brows at the distressed Avatar and then turned her gaze upon Mako. "We could always just listen to the radio and find out about any important announcement."

Korra instantly shot up at the idea and nearly knocked over her chair. "Where's there a radio?" Her eyes glazed as she scanned their surroundings with determination, her hair swishing with each rash movement.

Bolin raised his brows. "Hey maybe Gommu would have one." He fed a piece of yellow cheese to Pabu on his shoulder.

She smacked a fist into her palm. "You're right!" She started to walk off without a moment's hesitation.

Mako grabbed her wrist and frowned. "Korra."

"What, Mako?" She said it a bit rashly, expecting him to come up with something else that would aggravate her.

He calmly let go of her wrist and leaned back. "You should eat first. A chunk of stale bread isn't enough to defeat Amon." He raised his brow.

She roughly let out a puff of air and avoided his eyes as she sat back down in her seat. She knew he was right, but she didn't like admitting it.

Bolin smiled. "Yeah, he's right Korra. You gotta eat up so that you can kick some chi-blocker butt!" He punched a hand through the air.

Mako grabbed a piece of stale bread from the table and pushed it over to her. "Just relax."

Korra grumbled. "So much for airbending…"

His fiery eyes dimmed to embers and he relaxed his expression. "You'll get there, Korra. You have what it takes."

Asami lowered her eyes, still a little uncomfortable about his concern for Korra. She was all he talked about.

Was it really over between she and Mako? Just like that?

Korra took the bread quietly. "Thanks."

He reached for an old banana and kept his eyes on her. Her response didn't sound very promising and he didn't like it.

Korra just silently ate her bread. There was a lot on her mind, but when it came down to everything, she just really didn't want to think about it. Her patience was running thin, but when was it not? The thought of it aggravated her. Some Avatar! She only knew how to bend three elements. There wasn't enough time to learn airbending before facing Amon. Plus, her airbending teacher was no longer present. Whatever…she would just have to fight Amon with three elements. Who needed airbending? She would be ok with only three elements, right? She sighed and grabbed a few things to eat from the table. "I should probably go feed Naga." She slowly stood and walked away from the table without exchanging eye contact with anybody.

Mako's eyes became disheartened. There she went, once again, to be alone and away from everyone. He would have stopped her or made her stay, but he didn't know how to say it. Maybe it was better to just leave her be. Something about the way she walked off gave him the impression that she just wanted to be left alone. At the same time, it just made him want to reach out to her and…do what? Hold her? Hug her? What could he possibly say to take that distant look out of her eyes? Just a few minutes ago she had been so excited and determined, and now?…

Bolin gave Mako a soft nudge and leaned over the table to whisper. "Korra's been goin' off on her own a lot lately, hasn't she?"

Asami rested an elbow on the table. "She's under a lot of pressure. I can't blame her." Her emerald eyes drifted off to the side. "When I found out about my father, I didn't know _what_ to do with myself. I can only imagine how Korra is feeling."

Mako ducked his head and continued to eat without saying a word.

Bolin gave a pout and looked at his brother. "You think she gets lonely when she goes off like that?"

His amber eyes turned away, guarding his emotion. "I wouldn't know." He tensed his shoulders with a bit of frustration. He was too afraid to do what his heart kept trying to tell him to do because he didn't know how to approach her. So he just kept a watch on her as she sat off in the distance with Naga.

Bolin crossed his arms. "I don't know, guys. I think someone should go talk to her."

Mako redirected his attention at the sudden suggestion and eyed Bolin suspiciously.

Asami noticed the flicker of attention in Mako's eyes. She figured that he was probably considering going to talk to Korra. Still feeling a bit of jealousy, she spoke up to volunteer. "I could go talk to Korra. I can kind of understand what she's going through."

Bolin make a face of doubt. "Yeahh, but I don't know. Korra isn't all that familiar with you. She probably wouldn't open up." He shrugged and then snuck a glance at his tense brother, swindling a reaction out of him. "I guess _I_ could go talk to her."

"No." Mako stood. "It's best if I go." There was no way that he was anyone else talk to Korra and be there for her if it wasn't himself. He grabbed a couple of pieces of bread and an apple and turned away to head over to Korra.

The young waterbender was off in the distance, standing in front of Naga and burying her face into the neck of her fur. The giant polarbear dog bend its head down to nudge Korra affectionately with her wet black nose.

Mako took his time approaching her, unsure of what he should say once he got there. He could hear her mumbling things to Naga as she scratched her neck, and every so often she would give a light laugh if the polarbear dog licked her face.

Finally reaching his destination, Mako cleared his throat and watched Korra with a bit of concern. "Done feeding Naga?"

She spun around to face him with a smile that had been for Naga. In an instant, the smile no longer met her eyes. It was no more than a façade, and Mako was able to identify it this time. She casually leaned back against Naga's shoulder and crossed her arms. "Yeah, I'm pretty much done here. Just having a little fun, I guess." Her smile dimmed to a smirk and she glanced off to the side. "So, what's up?" Her aqua eyes met his unexpectedly.

"Just wanted to know if you were ready to get that radio and try on those chi-blocker uniforms." He raised his brows and shoved his hands in his pockets. He mentally cursed himself. What the hell was that? He was supposed to say something nice or comfort her and he brought up chi-blocker uniforms? Why was it so hard to say how he felt in dire situations? First he had said too much and did to much the last time he had talked to Korra at Air Temple Island…..and now he just couldn't get anything out right. He was afraid of over-doing it.

Korra grinned. "Absolutely!" She stopped leaning. "Let's go check them out. There are only two uniforms, but I think the second one would probably fit you more than it would anyone else. It's kind of big."

Mako raised his brows. Well at least that had put a smile on her face. Maybe he did something right for once. He smirked warmly. "Sure, I'll try it on."

"Awesome! Let's go!" She was already grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him forward to go see Gommu.

**I should be writing chapter 9 sometime soon ^.^ I hope you guys enjoyed the character chemistry in this chapter. I was basically just trying to give more depth to the characters so that romance scenes are more intense once they come up.**

**Thanks for all of the reviews, guys! ^.^ I hope to hear more of what you all think 3**


	9. Another Kind of Close

**Note: Hey guys, finally finished chapter 9….and the odd thing is I actually have nothing to say about it. lol I just hope that you guys enjoy it. I'm gonna start working on chapter 10 either tonight or sometime tomorrow. :3 Hopefully you guys enjoy it and I hope that it is worth your while once i finish the entire fanfic ^.^**

**Thanks for all of the reviews guys! :3 I'm glad that I could make a few people laugh and that you all understand what I am trying to do with this fanfic. It makes me feel great when I know you guys are enjoying the read.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Legend of Korra.**

Mako and Korra had set up an old radio at their campsite after talking to Gommu and trying on their chi-blocker disguises. For the rest of the day, they had kept it on, monitoring it the entire time and listening for any important announcements. Korra kept it right next to her while they all sat at the table, focusing on the cheap wooden radio with deep intensity.

Bolin yawned and leaned back in his chair. "Well, hopefully something will come up, and no more food commercials. They're making me hungry." He pouted and stroked the fur of his pet fireferret.

Without taking her eyes off of the radio, Korra sat up in her seat. "I guess I should go gather some more food before it gets too late." She stood and looked around the table. "You guys keep listening to the radio. I'll be right back."

Mako watched her with interest. "I'll go with you."

"Just stay here. I've got Naga." She put two fingers in her mouth and gave a short whistle. "Here, Naga!"

From off in the distance, Naga picked up her head and excitedly trotted over to Korra.

Bolin raised his brows. "You think you could pick me up another one of those sandwiches?"

"No problem." Korra grabbed the front of Naga's harness and led her forward. "Come on, girl. I'll be back, guys." She just confidently walked off, not caring what anybody else thought about it. She could handle herself. At least, that's what she told herself.

The deeper she had gotten into the city, the more she realized that she did _not_ want to eat that food again. There had to be something better around that place, anything better than stale bread and old fruits and crackers. Then she remembered how they had arrived at the underground city in the first place. She grinned to herself. The ocean! Where there was an ocean, there were fish and Korra was going fishing.

Back at the camp everyone was pretty bored, lazy and tired, except for Mako. Mako was tense and worrisome, which he usually was if Korra was wondering off again. It had been more than a half hour since she had left and Mako was just about ready to jump off of the edge of his seat. Where in the name of all spirits was that girl? What was taking her so long? He didn't think he could sit still for much longer, and the fact that Bolin was complaining about food and annoyingly playing around with Pabu was not helping. His brows bunched over his forehead with frustration. "Maybe I should go look for her. She's taking forever." He eagerly gripped the end of the table and shifted to the edge of his seat.

Bolin tried to make Pabu do flips on the table. "Or maybe you should be _patient_ and _calm_, like Tenzin said." He frowned to himself. "Am I the only one that's learning anything here?"

Mako's jaw tightened. "I'm serious. It doesn't take that long to get food."

Asami played with a strand of her hair from across the table. "That's true. I don't remember it taking us that long when she and I left to get food this morning."

Bolin waved a hand. "Aww, you know Korra, she's probably fine. She's probably just being Korra."

Mako narrowed his amber eyes menacingly. "That's exactly what I'm afraid of. Korra being _Korra_." He groaned.

Asami's eyes widened at the sight of Mako's hands gripping the table. Smoke drifted up steadily. "Mako, you're scorching the table!"

He growled and crossed his arms tensely.

Bolin smiled. "See? I told you she was fine. There she is over there with Naga."

"It's about time." Mako was greatly relieved, yet at the same time he was angry. He remained rigid, conjuring a flame in his hand and playing with it moodily.

Once Korra finally reached the campsite Bolin ran over to her excitedly. "Korra! We were worried about you! Did you get my sandwich?"

She grinned, grabbing a basket down from Naga's back. "Even better!"

"Where the hell were you?" Mako snapped, already standing in front of her and angrily crossing his arms.

Korra frowned at him as she sensed his ire. "Fishing."

His eyes widened. "_Fishing?_ Fishing where?"

Her aqua eyes narrowed. "The ocean, where else?"

His arms swiftly uncrossed as his hands bunched to fists. "The _ocean_? Are you crazy? Damn it, Korra! What if something happened to you? What if somebody saw you?"

Bolin slowly slinked away and pointed toward the camp. "Yeah, I'm just…gonna wait…right over here…right." He quickly left the two fuming benders.

Korra groaned. "Well, I'm fine and nobody saw me."

"And how would you know?" He curled his lip.

"I just know!"

"You could've just picked up some food from the city!" He jerked his hand in the proper direction mentioned, shooting out a small flame.

"Yeah, well, I didn't!" She tightened her grip on the basket.

His brow twitched. "Of all things, you just had to go fishing."

She raised her brow and used one hand to gesture toward herself. "I'm a native waterbender. It was the natural solution."

He gave her a sarcastic expression. "Well, I'm not from the watertribe."

"Well, maybe you should be!" She gave him a hard poke in the chest. "_Firebender_…"

He flared up with irritation and a slight excitement at her contact. "Don't poke me! _Waterbender_…"

She made a face and poked him again. "Make me."

"Ugh!" He rubbed a hand over his face.

"Look, if it's such a big deal, why don't _you_ fish next time!" She shoved the basket of fish into his chest and brushed past him. Naga whined and followed after her.

Mako awkwardly held the basket and stared down at the fish with a sigh. "Korra…" He shook his head with ridicule and followed behind her as she stormed off toward the area they used for the campfire. She veered him so off topic that he didn't even get to get his point across. "Korra, that wasn't the point."

She grabbed the scrappy radio and sat down on the ground in front of the garbage and strips of wood that they used for a campfire. She knew what she had said wasn't the point. She just didn't care to hear what the point was. She had screwed up…._again_…and she didn't care to hear of it. She kept up a stubborn expression and crossed her legs, turning up the radio volume to help her ignore Mako's voice.

The broody firebender set down the basket of fish and sighed, standing over her patiently.

Korra lowered her eyes and turned down the radio. She sighed, feeling quite scornful toward herself. "What, Mako? I know. I messed up again. I don't think. I'm too impulsive and I let my impatience get the best of me. I'm the Avatar, I should be more careful…" With a shrug, she pulled a stick from the pile of scraps and then tossed a small flame into the heap. It slowly flared up into small campfire.

Mako raised his brows, a bit surprised by her reaction, and cleared his throat. "Uh, actually, what I was going to say was… I was worried about you…" He sat down beside her and adjusted his scarf, gazing into the fire. "But if you would like to go on with what you were saying I would be more than happy to oblige…" His eyes turned toward her with a bit of sarcasm.

She blushed. "Are you kidding me?" She smirked. "I bet you would like that, wouldn't you?"

He gave a light laugh. Hearing Korra admit how she was wrong about something was definitely something worth hearing.

"I'll pass. That's the last thing I want to continue talking about." She poked at the flames with her stick.

Naga walked off to the side somewhere and lied down, figuring Korra was ok but still keeping an eye on her.

Mako nodded and continued to stare into the flames.

Bolin walked over hesitantly and bit his lip. "Is it safe?" He asked cautiously.

Korra grinned and then glanced at Mako. "I think it's pretty safe for now." She raised her brow.

Mako smirked. "For _now_."

"Thank the spirits, 'cause I'm starving!" Bolin sat down next to Mako and called over his shoulder to Asami, who was still sitting at the table. "It's safe, Asami! Come sit with us! Korra caught fish!" He smiled at Korra. "I'm really diggin' your natural instinct as a Watertribe native. I bet the fish is gonna be great!" He raised two thumbs in the air.

Asami came over and sat down on the other side of Bolin. "Nice one, Korra!" She smiled. "Fish was a great idea."

Korra shrugged happily. "I figured it would be nice to eat something a bit more decent than what we had earlier."

Bolin tilted his head affectionately. "Awww, how thoughtful of you!" He nudged his brother. "You see that, Mako, she went out of her way just for us!"

Mako slanted his eyebrows and gave his little brother a look of ridicule. "A bit dramatic, Bo."

He raised his hands clulessly. "What? She was so worried about finding us some awesome food that she didn't even bother to think about her own safety."

Korra cleared her throat awkwardly. "How about we not talk about this before the area between point A and B…" She gestured between she and Mako. "..becomes dangerous again."

Asami sarcastically raised her brows. "Agreed."

Mako let out a short huff of air. "Right. Bo, can you hand me that fish?"

Both Korra and Mako cooked all of the fish Korra had caught and split it between the four of them. Fish had definitely turned out to be a lot better than the food they had eaten earlier. By the time they were done, they were all completely sated.

After discussing how the shifts for the radio would be distributed, Bolin and Asami left the campfire to go to sleep. Only Mako and Korra remained awake and listening to the radio.

Keeping her legs pulled to her chest, Korra rested her chin on her knees and fed a few more flames to the fire. Her aqua eyes remained on the radio with determination. Were they ever going to announce anything? She was getting sick of info-mercials and lame music so much that her attention span was weaning away. Her brows drew closer together and she blinked a few times, trying not to doze off after such a long day and being up so late.

Mako shifted a bit from the position that he was sitting in and bent one knee. He raised his brows. "Korra, maybe you should rest."

"No." She kept her eyes on the radio. "I'm the Avatar. This is my responsibility."

He sighed, eyeing the way her eyelids slowly began to droop. "Even, the Avatar needs help, Korra. We're all you're friends remember?"

Her gaze lazily drifted to the fire as she tightly hugged her knees. "I know, Mako….But I should still stay up as long as I can." Her shoulders slumped with exhaustion. It was extremely late, but she didn't want to sleep yet. She wanted to stay up as long as she could before the next shift had to take over. She wanted Bolin and Asami to get plenty of rest before they had to wake up again. So it didn't matter how tired she was….It didn't matter how badly she just wanted…to sleep…

"Korra."

She jumped and took in a swift breath of air. "I'm fine."

Mako shook his head and inched a bit closer to her so that he was right next her in case he had to give her a nudge. "Korra, you dozed off."

She weakly groaned in disapproval and slowly blinked at the fire, crossing her arms over her knees and resting her face in her arms. "No…I w's jus'…ya know…blinkin'…an' stuff…" She slurred. A stray strand of hair fell from her bangs and rested on the bridge of her nose. Something about the way the fire danced and the way the heat touched her skin soothed her senses into a relaxed state. Something that somehow felt like home or Naga's warm fur…

Mako watched carefully as her eyelids sank heavily for the second time. Her eyes completely closed and her expression relaxed with ease. The next thing to go was the tension in her shoulders and her arms slowly began to uncross. "Korra?"

Her posture shifted sideways and her head made gentle contact with Mako's shoulder.

He blushed and steadied her by shifting his arm behind her back, but that only caused her to limply roll onto his chest. "Woah…" He quickly wrapped an arm around her before she could sink into his lap. The flustered firebender held onto the young Avatar unsure of what to do. He just watched as the glow of the flames danced over her calm expression and her mocha skin.

Korra shifted slightly, her hand finding Mako's scarf and gripping it with familiarity. Though she was unconscious, she could slightly sense him with her subconscious. It was because of his scent, his spicy warm scent. She was so familiar with it because of the times he had lent her his scarf.

Korra nuzzled his chest, relaxing her grip on the scarf slightly.

His heart sped. Mako wasn't used to having Korra so close, but he realized he liked it better that way. He preferred to have her close. Close in a sense where she was somewhat relaxed and familiar with his presence. Un conscious or not, it was as if she knew she was in his arms. Not many people shared that kind of closeness.

Eager to touch her, his other hand reached over to fix the strand that fell from her bangs not too long ago. He could feel as she suddenly relaxed more in his grasp and molded her body against his side. How could she feel so soft with such an athletic body structure? He gently shifted her a little higher up his chest so that she wouldn't fall.

What was he to do with her now?

His brows slanted upward as his gaze thoroughly traced over her sleeping figure. As much as he just wanted to sit there and hold her all night, he knew it was best to just get her to bed. She needed rest and if anyone were to see her sleeping on him, there would be an uproar. So he carefully scooped her up into his arms and looked around for a place for her to sleep. He spotted Naga sleeping a few paces away and stood up to walk over to her.

As he approached, Naga picked up her head and wagged her tail.

Mako smirked. "Hey, Naga." He whispered. "Make sure she sleeps ok, alright girl?" He gently laid Korra against Naga's side, softly untangling her hand from his scarf in the process.

Korra moaned, turning onto her side and nuzzling Naga's fur. "Mako…" She quietly mumbled his name in her sleep.

He hesitated at the sound of his name before deciding to lightly kiss her forehead. "Good night, Korra." He carefully undid the hair wrap on the top of her head and let her hair cascade in waves of dark chocolate brown. He didn't want to walk away, but he had to. With one last glance, he placed her hairpiece beside her on the ground before walking off to the campfire to finish his radio shift.

**Note: Hope you guys enjoyed it. :3 Don't be afraid to comment or state your opinion. I love the responses.**

**I actually kind of extended the fanfic a bit too…so…I think it will be three more chapters left after "this" chapter. haha I'm not so sure. Things tend to vary with me depending on the way my writing decides to flow ^.^ But this will definitely go all the way until the end of the season finale and there might be some smut toward the end…the world may never know….0.o**


	10. What is Simple?

**Note: Ok, bear with me here….this chapter was very very hard to write… lol I really think that it was the hardest one to write because of all the transitions with the show and the scenes that I had added before and during this chapter…..also because of the scenes that I am going to add later lol…errr….well I really hope that it turned out ok. I really did my best :0**

**Thanks for all of your reviews! I really enjoy reading them ^.^ and the humorous ones really make me laugh. You guys are awesome. 3 and yes, i mean that :3**

**Disclaimer: I don not own anything Legend of Korra.**

In the morning, an announcement had finally gone off on the radio. It notified Republic City of a public speech that was going to be taking place in front of the Council Hall. Their speaker was to be Hiroshi and he was going to explain the new set of rules now that Amon had taken over.

The idea of it all had put Korra in a blaze all over again. Though, at least this time it had been a blaze of determination. She had known when she was supposed to make her move to spy, and she was going to wait and prepare for that moment. Just like an airbender.

The Equalist campaign wasn't until the evening so she and the rest of Team Avatar had a talk with Gommu when he had checked up on them that morning. He'd offered to help and find out more about how the campaign was going to be set up.

Once things had finally been planned out, it went a lot smoother than they had expected. Going to and from the campaign was cake. The only problem was the flare Mako noticed in Korra's aura.

"Can you believe Hiroshi? _The Avatar's on the run_- I'm not _running_ from anyone!" There was this competitive spring in her step as they walked down the tunnel that led back to the underground city.

Mako wasn't exactly sure how bad Korra had been affected by the campaign, but he certainly didn't have a good feeling about it. Even he was a bit agitated himself.

"Let's go back up there and knock some heads! They'll never know what hit'em!" With an irritated scowl, Korra smacked a fist into her palm and started back in the other direction tensely.

"Relax, General Iroh is coming with an entire fleet of battleships. Then, Amon will be the one who's running." He kept an eye on her to make sure that she didn't walk any farther. He wished that he could tell her something more dependable, but the United Forces was all that they had going for them at the moment.

Korra gave a mental groan and turned back in the direction of the underground city. "I hate this being patient stuff…" She grumbled as they continued down the hall.

In reality, Korra wasn't sure about how to feel about it all, and when she wasn't exactly sure how she should feel, it just made her angry. Why did things have to be so difficult? She had never had to deal with these sorts of problems before….people accusing her of running away or oppressing non-benders…What did they know? They didn't know her! How dare they even assume anything about her! She just wanted to go back up there and prove them wrong. It was in her nature to defend herself and to defend what was true. What angered her even more was that she couldn't do it _now_. There was a war going on. That would just be one more foolish thing to add to her impulsive mistakes…..What ever happened to simplicity?

Suddenly her pace slowed. Mako took notice and followed in suit, taking the time to study her suddenly calmed expression. What was she thinking?

Her oceanic eyes sought the ground. Maybe her life had never actually been so simple, but being the Avatar was definitely a lot more than she had expected. Conquering three elements had come natural to her, but airbending and trying to stop Amon had been something else all together. What would it have been like if things were different?…Her eyes drifted over to Mako, his amber eyes were focused on her intensely. Would things had different between them?

"What is it?" Mako finally decided to question her behavior.

She quickly looked away. "Nothing, just….thinking. That's all."

His eyes drifted away unsteadily as if he were afraid to say anything further. "About what?"

"Maybe some things would have been a lot simpler if the situation was different…" She avoided his gaze.

"Hey..." Mako raised his brows and grabbed her wrist to stop her from walking any farther down the tunnel. "We're all gonna get through this, ok?"

She shook her head and shifted uncomfortably. "I know, it's just a lot, alright? I'm fine, Mako." She was about to walk away, when he took a step closer and gently held her face with both hands. She hesitated, not expecting him to touch her face.

"Korra…" He waited until her cool aqua eyes met with his. "Don't worry so much. It's gonna be ok. The United Forces are coming and everything, ok?…" Brushing his thumb over her cheek, he thoroughly searched her guarded eyes. "I'm here for you…" He carefully leaned down and gave her a light kiss on the tip of her nose.

She blushed and raised her brows with uncertain curiosity as she stared up at him. "Did you just kiss my nose?" She twisted her mouth to the side, her brow twitching slightly.

He pulled his hands away with a flush and cleared his throat, his hand finding his scarf nervously. How could he be so childish? Her nose? _Really?_ "Well, I figured you wouldn't want me to kiss your lips."

"Didn't I tell you not to kiss me?" Her brow rose sarcastically and her eyes narrowed.

Amber eyes turned away abruptly. "You did. I- It's just-" He was suddenly cut off by the feel of her lips against his, his lower lip held gently by her mouth. One of her hands was gripping his scarf and the other was holding the side of his jaw. His breathing hitched and his hands found her waist and shoulders as the energy of her kiss rushed through him.

That girl never made any sense, did she?

He kissed her back with the same intensity as she did him, and slowly backed her into the wall behind her, much more gentle than the last time. Then he softly broke the kiss and stroked the side of her face. "Korra…" He said it more as a question, and tenderly held her gaze.

"Sorry…"

"I'm not complaining." He raised his brows.

She smirked slightly and then looked away, mentally chiding her sudden behavior. "With this war and all, it's hard for me to tell when I'm missing my chances…" Her smirk faded and she lowered her eyes.

Using a hand to fix that one strand of hair that always fell from her bangs, Mako watched and tried to understand what she meant. Maybe she had felt torn between what to feel about the war and what to feel about him. He stalled a bit before speaking. "Asami and I, we aren't even…" He trailed off and switched his wording around with a sigh. "You wont be missing any chances, Korra." He gently lifted the bottom of her chin. "I'm on your side."

A smirk crookedly curved up the side of her face. She was about to dodge the bullet again. Maybe this wasn't something that she was quite ready to face yet. There were too many things going on. "We'll see about that, Mr. Hat Trick. We've still got a war to fight." And with that, she sighed and slipped out from between him and the wall. "We should go now. Bolin and Asami are waiting for us."

Mako nodded and followed after her. What had she meant by "we'll see about that"? Was that a challenge? He just silently followed after her until they arrived at the edge of the tunnel where the city began. Bolin and Asami were sitting on a pair of crates, waiting for them. Bolin entertained himself with making Pabu do tricks while Asami just watched.

The second Mako and Korra had arrived at the end of the tunnel, Bolin and Asami headed over to meet up with them. Asami crossed her arms at the sight of them, a tinge of jealousy in her aura. "You two were gone a while." She rudely pointed out.

Mako flared up inside, annoyed by the sudden spurts of impudence she portrayed every so often. "We were _doing_ reconnaissance." He firmly stated in defense. Gee, he thought the jealousy thing was over already.

Korra just looked at Mako a bit surprised by his sudden repulsiveness.

Asami lowered her arms and turned away her eyes, green with envy. "Whatever." So was really just moving on to Korra that fast, wasn't he? Korra really must have meant a lot more to him than she had thought.

"Welcome back!" Gommu showed up and rushed over toward Korra and Mako. He put an arm on each of their shoulders with a big grin. "Hope you've worked up an appetite 'cause _dinner_ is _served!_"

After Gommu had led them all to a small sitting area to serve them street gruel, Korra had thanked him for letting them hideout underground for the past few days. To him, it was not a problem. Everyone that lived underground was against Amon anyway, both benders and non-benders alike. He was all for Team Avatar.

In the end, they were all very grateful for their street gruel, in exception to Asami. She seemed to have found some sort of displeasure in eating a soup made of leftover food from the dumpsters of Republic City. Whatever the case had been, she didn't eat any of the food Gommu had provided for them at all, and Team Avatar mainly focused on the possible arrival of Iroh's fleet the next morning.

That night, Korra was, once again, sitting alone with Naga. At least she was a little bit closer to camp this time, but she still kept her distance. Something about the way her mind and emotions kept altering and intertwining with each other had just rendered her to instinctually keep away from everyone.

Earlier that day, when she had stepped out in the open to see what had become of Republic City, she couldn't even begin to soak everything in. This wasn't a war that the elders of the Watertribe would talk about around a campfire. It wasn't a war of the past. It wasn't a war that was looked back on as people tried to imagine how it could have possibly felt…..This was a war of the present….and it was happening then and there. It was happening in a city that she was meant to protect. Korra knew that there were others to help her, but she couldn't help but only see herself as one person. One person against this city….against the world if things ever got worse..

Before she had come to Republic City, war situations had only been things that she had read about, or heard about from others. Life had been simpler then. She only had to worry about training and perfecting her bending, not trying to defeat a man that was almost impenetrable. She knew nothing about Amon, yet she had to defeat him one way or another. This 17 year old watertribe girl had to defeat Amon, a man who had the ability to strip away her bending at any given moment if the chance were available to him…..And what would she be then?…Who would she be?….What if she failed and there were no more benders in existence?

Would she ever enjoy another moment of simplicity? Like those days when she had lived in the Southern Watertribe? Where did the boundaries between normal life begin and end, because some sinking feeling of nostalgia told her that she was no longer just that girl from the Watertribe of the South Pole anymore…

"Can't sleep either?" Her thoughts were interrupted by a deep familiar voice.

She instantly looked up from where she was sitting and met with eyes of liquid topaz. "No, I have this awful pit in my stomach." She sat up slightly to adjust her sitting position.

Mako sat down beside her and casually leaned back against Naga. "Me too…"

She lowered her eyes thinking back on what had been simple for her, not too long before the war. Things had changed so much since then. "It's so crazy, just a few months ago I was back at the South Pole practicing for my firebending test." She raised her brow with a competitive smirk, reliving the memory of her past, but then it quickly faded. "And now, I'm in the middle of an all out war…" Her brows slanted upward with sadness and her eyes became that of a desolate ocean.

Mako's eyes cast downward, a bit distraught by the display of emotions in her expression. "I know. We didn't even know each other then, and now, I can't imagine my life without you in it." He smiled at her, trying to cheer her up. Maybe that was what he had been trying to say every time he attempted to explain how he felt about her. Maybe it didn't come out as great as he had wanted to, but he was just going to say the truth. She deserved to know. "You're the most loyal, brave, and selfless person I've ever known."

That was not something she had ever expected Mako to say, but she wasn't complaining. She adored the words that he had said. This was what simple was, wasn't it? She timidly lowered her eyes with a smirk. "I think you're pretty incredible too but, you already knew that…" Her eyes met his softly as she recollected on what she had said to him back in her room at Air Temple Island. He was calm and cool, and she admired his stability.

Of course he knew what she thought of him. He remembered every word of what she had said at Air Temple Island. He just exchanged a soft smirk and studied the look in her eyes. Something in those oceanic eyes of hers seemed to have calmed.

Then the sea became disrupted and she looked away with uncertainty. "I should probably try to get some sleep…" She didn't want to turn him away, but something about that smug look in his eyes made her want to kiss him again and she was just too mixed with emotion to handle it.

"Me too." He looked away and then stood from where he was sitting. "Goodnight." Whatever that look was, that had been in her eyes, he knew it meant that she just wanted to be left alone again. So, he didn't protest.

"Goodnight…" She said it with a bit of regret as she turned on her side and stared after him while he walked away. Then, without notice, Korra realized she really didn't want to think anymore. She was overwhelmed and emotionally and mentally exhausted. Iroh's ships should be arriving sometime the next day, and that meant big things were to be happening. She just sighed and did her best to coax herself to sleep. Maybe Mako's scarf was a great asset after all.

**Note: I hope you all really enjoyed this. What made the chapter so hard to write was all of the angst and frustration that the characters face. So, hopeully I did an ok job :p I might have to wait until tomorrow night before I start to write chapter 11 because I am leaving to San Francisco at 4am tomorrow…got a wedding to attend on Saturday for my cousin ^.^ So, I will do my best to write during any spare time that I have while I'm out in the city.**

**Questions or Comments, don't be afraid to say anything. I love the feedback. Not only is it enjoyable to read, but also quite helpful at times.**

**"It's better to say too much, then never to say what you need to say." ~John Mayer**


	11. Watertribe Girl

**Note: YEEEE! So I just got back from San Francisco. For anyone who was wondering, yes I had a great time and the city was beautiful. Something about that place artistically inspires me. Especially when looking down at the city late at night.**

**Ahem!-SO….I really enjoyed writing this chapter :3 Mainly, it was because of all of the emotion. Well I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it ^.^**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Legend of Korra.**

Today was the big day, and even though there had been a few struggles, Team Avatar had made it through. Mako had fought along Korra's side when she stood up against Amon while Bolin and Asami made their move on Hiroshi. Though the fight had been rough, Team Avatar had prevailed. Amon turned out to be an imposter, a waterbender, and Tarrlok happened to be his brother. Once Amon had been exposed, he fled, and that had been the end of the war.

Even though it was all over, not everything had turned out the way Korra had wished it to turn out. Throughout everything, Amon had, indeed, gotten his hands on her and stripped her of her bending. Sure, Korra had fears of it happening to her, but she had never actually expected it to happen.

What was to become of her then? She had gone from bending three elements to only bending one, air.

How could such a big win cause her to lose everything?

Korra hopelessly stood on the dock of Air Temple Island with the rest of Team Avatar, Tenzin and his family, and Beifong. They were all waiting for Bumi, Tenzin's brother. It was as if her world were on a standstill. She just couldn't grasp it all. How could she lose her bending? She was the Avatar…

Beifong gave her a worried look and held her by the shoulders. "I can't believe Amon got you too." She knew Korra was the last person to ever deserve such thing.

Then Bolin chimed in. "Hey at least you unlocked your airbending!" He shook his two fists with enthusiasm.

Everyone just stared at him in silence.

Mako gave him a scornful expression and slightly frowned. "Bro, not the time."

He harmlessly put up both hands. "Right, right…" Then he slowly started to beck away. "I'll just head over here….quietly…in silence…" He covered his mouth with both hands.

They all continued to wait for Bumi to arrive and take them over to the South Pole. Tenzin had figured that maybe Katara could help Korra get her bending back using healing methods. It wasn't a definite solution, but it was worth the try.

Korra was all for the idea, but it still didn't change her mood along the ship ride to the South Pole. The entire way, all she could think was, "I can no longer bend." How was that even possible? Was it even real? Of course it was real!….And that's what made it feel all too unreal and a hundred times worse.

No bending.

Now what?

Who was she now? Bending was her life. Being the Avatar had been her purpose. Now, she was no more than another airbender…

Everything..

Gone.

Korra took a breath and sighed as she leaned back against Naga down in the storage section of the ship. Time was meaningless to her, but she guessed that it was probably very late.

She stared mindlessly into the small lantern that she had set up on the floor in front of her. Her knees were held tightly to her chest, sitting there alone in the storage level of the ship. Though she was still in a bit of a trauma, she was very aware of another person standing on the stairway that led to the level above. Korra rested her chin on her knees. "Can't sleep either?"

Mako slowly made his way down the stairs. "No." He approached her and gave a soft smile. "So is this gonna become a habit of ours?"

She smiled slightly. "What are you doing down here?"

He stood over her with his hands in his pockets and raised his brows. "What are you still doing awake?"

She lowered her eyes. "You should already know."

She was right. He did know. He just was afraid to bring it up himself. He wished he could have prevented Amon from touching her…but at that time, he couldn't even move. Watching her get her bending stripped away from her was not something he wanted to ever see. "Korra…"

"I went from three elements to one. Great, isn't it? Some Avatar I am." She gave a sarcastic laugh and threw a punch. "Nothing….not a damn thing.." She roughly threw two more punches into the air. "It doesn't even matter how I'm feeling…it doesn't matter how angry I am, how sad, how anxious….You know, you can't tell a writer to stop writing, a lover to stop loving , or a painter to stop painting. It's just what they do! It's a part of who they are!" She began to raise her voice the angrier she felt. It was hurting her.

Mako softened his expression and sat down beside her against Naga. He hated to see her like this. Why couldn't it have happened to him instead? "Maybe that healer, Katara, that you guys were talking about can heal you. She might be able to restore your connections to the other elements."

She sighed, keeping her knees close to her chest and her arms over her knees. "_Might_…" Gazing back at the lantern, she lowered her face into the crook of her elbow. Her eyes glazed dolefully. "You should get some sleep."

"I can't."

"If you're as tired as I am, it shouldn't be too hard." She mumbled.

Mako crossed his arms and leaned back against Naga. "I can't sleep when you're like this. I saw it happen." And he hated that all he could do at the time was watch….

She smirked slightly and then looked away. "I'm fine, Mako."

He hesitated and then decided to reach over and touch her shoulder comfortingly. "You saved Republic City, Korra."

Somewhere deep inside, her heart just got colder and colder. Internally, Korra was slowly starting to crumble. "And Amon got away, and I lost my bending. Just go to bed, Mako."

He frowned and crossed his arms. "I'm not going to bed until I know that you're sound asleep. I'm not the only one that needs rest here."

She gave a sarcastic snort and turned to face him. "So if I fall asleep, then you will go to sleep too?" She raised her brow, smiling softly.

He nodded shortly.

"Ok, Cool Guy." She lied down against Naga and faced him with a slight smirk.

He smirked back and mimicked her slowly. Korra was stubborn, there was no way she was going to fold that easily. Mako had a feeling that she might be scheming something. So, he kept a close eye on her.

"Night, Mako." She closed her eyes calmly and mentally laughed to herself. Like hell she was goin' to sleep! She couldn't sleep. There was too much built up emotion. She wasn't sure how much longer she would be able to take it.

"Goodnight." Mako closed his eyes partially so that he could keep a close eye on her. That girl wasn't going to go to sleep was she? He knew her too well. So he had to do his best to pretend that he was slowly dozing off. She wouldn't expect him to do the same thing that she was doing.

After a long while of feigning sleep, Korra had finally gotten up to sneak away from Mako, whom she thought was asleep. She quietly made her way up through the ship and onto the deck. They must have come across a small rain cloud, because it was raining on the top deck.

Korra stepped out into the rain and slowly made her way to the railing along the edge of the ship. Each drop of water reminded her of her true native element…She was no longer that watertribe girl, was she? Her chest tightened with pain, images of past memories fluttering through her mind….the fulfilling sensation she had always felt when bending water... How could she be herself anymore without her bending?….It had been a part of her…

She leaned helplessly against the railing, staring over the edge at the roaring sea. Sure, she couldn't bend earth or fire, but water, it was the element of change….It was what she had grown up with….and now she could no longer connect with the one thing that was closest to home. She internally cringed, unable to bear the pain and anger that was threatening to spill out from within her. Her hand gripped the railing until her knuckles turned white, something unordinary for her mocha skin.

Everything that had been a major part of her life was gone, and she could no longer _feel_ the other elements. Once that fact had finally hit her, she broke. Her salty tears blended with the raindrops that dampened her hair and trailed down her face. A sudden surge of rage hit her like gas to a flame and she threw out an angry fist. Instead of her usual flame, it was followed by a gust of air. It just enraged her even more. She hated that it hurt her so much inside. She hated that she missed it so much. All of it made her so angry because it hurt so much. She tensed and threw a bunch of bending moves in every direction possible. Every move was followed by nothing, and every point that would have sparked an angry flame of ire was replaced by a distraught gust of air.

Korra dropped to her knees, hard, on the wooden deck. It was hopeless. Nothing worked! She pounded a fist to the ground as she shuddered and cried silently. She was never gonna bend again! She pounded her fist a second time, then a third, then harder the fourth, then….something caught her by the wrist before she could continue.

"Come on, Korra…" Mako's gentle voice coaxed her into submission. He wrapped an arm around her and took his time gathering her into his arms. "Let's get you back downstairs before you wake someone up." He glanced down at her and her face was buried in his scarf. She was shaking uncontrollably, probably from the rain, and her tears came silent.

Mako quietly turned and headed back down the staircase to the storage. He couldn't help but notice how soft and quiet her sobs were. Korra was the type of girl that didn't want the world to know when she was crying, wasn't she? She didn't want anyone to hear…She didn't want anyone to know that she had fears or weaknesses…

With a slight sigh, Mako finally reached the storage level and settled himself down against Naga's side. Naga whimpered and gave him a questioning look.

He leaned his head back against her fur and adjusted Korra in his arms. "I've got her, Naga." He rested his chin on top of Korra's head and kept his arms around her tightly. "I've got her..." Korra shivered slightly and he stroked her hair.

"No more bending…." She said quietly into the chest of his shirt. "I'm just an airbender. I'm not that girl form the South Pole anymore…" Her sobs were dying down little by little.

Mako gently undid the hair wrap on the top of her head and slid a hand through her dark chocolate locks. "You will always be a watertribe girl."

"I feel so empty…" She shyly reached for his scarf as if to seek comfort.

He watched her with a smirk. "You really like my scarf, don't you?"

A light blush tinted her cheeks, "No. I don't know…" She let go of his scarf, feeling a bit childish.

He tugged it from around his neck and draped it over her shoulder. "I notice that you tend to grab for it." He used one hand to gently rub the back of her neck. "I don't mind…"

She held onto one end of the scarf and blinked her eyes tiredly. He was so warm, and all of that battling with her emotions had caused her to become extremely exhausted. She didn't even think to talk anymore, and she was too tired to argue about being in his arms. Plus…..she kind of liked it, and the way he was rubbing the back of her neck just made her more drowsy.

"Relax... You need the rest more than anyone on this ship."

Her eyes drifted shut as she slipped off into a deep sleep. She would sleep for now, just to pass the time, but Korra still knew that she would never be that girl again….that waterbender from the South Pole…

He took the time to watcher her for a second. Once she was fast asleep Her undisturbed expression put him at peace. "Goodnight, Watertribe Girl…" He kissed her forehead and kept his chin on her head with his eyes closed, ready for a good night's rest.

**Note: Hope you guys enjoyed :3 I'm actually thinking about squeezing in another chapter or 2 instead of just ending it with chapter 12. If I do, I may need a bit of time to think of what to add. Let me know what you guys think. :)**

**Questions/Comments? Dont be afraid to speak your mind :3**

**Thanks for all of the reviews guys ^.^ I enjoy them very much. 3**


	12. Incapable

**Note: This chapter was meant to help portray what makes it so difficult for her to give into Mako even though the war is over. Hope you guys enjoy ^.^ lol for whatever reason, I personally didnt like this chapter too much…maybe I feel like i rushed ti or something..I'm not sure. Whatever it was, I'm gona make sure im more confident with the next chapter.**

**I have really been enjoying the reviews, guys :3 You have no idea how much I spazz when I see how much people like what I write. Writing is one of my all time loves so, it is a very big deal to me :) Thank you all so very much 3**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Legend of Korra.**

When Mako awoke the next morning, Korra was gone. He was alone in the storage level, still lying on the resting polarbear dog. His red scarf rested idly on his chest as if someone had left it there in a careless rush. With a deep sigh, he ran a hand through his hair and sat up, grabbing the scarf from his chest.

Had he been wrong about her finally calming down last night? He thought she had been ok. He rubbed his tired amber eyes and sat up on his palms. She _had_ to be ok… He wouldn't have it any other way.

Maybe there was something that he didn't understand correctly. Whatever the case had been, he figured he should go look for her. If there was one thing that broke his patience it was an unhappy Korra. He hadn't seen that happy girl that he met at his probending match since he had started dating Asami, and Amon took over the bending arena. That fact did not settle with him very well. So he got up, gave Naga a friendly tousle, and headed for the top deck.

Reaching the top of the staircase, Mako scanned his surroundings as he reapplied his scarf. It smelled of her, the unique scent of the South Pole mixed with her own distinct fragrance. He took a breath and made a sudden turn to start for the back of the ship when he ran into his brother with a clash. He groaned.

Bolin raised both hands. "Woah, sorry, bro."

"Oh, hey, Bo." He adjusted his coat and fixed his scarf. "You seen Korra around at all?"

He raised his brows. "Yeah, she actually came up here about fifteen minutes ago right before she ran back down to give you your scarf- Hey, wait a minute!" He waggled his brows knowingly. "Korra had your scarf! You weren't in your bed last night!" He winked with a grin and covered one side of his mouth to whisper in Mako's ear. "So you and Korra, hu? Did you guys uhhh…" He laced his fingers together. "…copulate?" He jerked his brows with a goofy grin.

"What? -Korra? Of course not! _Bo_…" He slapped a palm to his face as Bolin made a guilty expression and pointed behind him.

"Of course not, hu?"

Mako froze at the sound of Korra's voice from behind. His eyes widened with a blush as he turned to face her. "Korra-hi- I didn't exactly-"

"_Korra!_" Bolin came up and leaned on Mako's shoulder casually. "What he's trying to say is we were _not_ talking about you." He said this with an easy going shake of his head. "Nope. Not at all."

Mako pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration at his brother's actions.

She gave Bolin an incredulous look and then glanced at Mako. "So, I'm not good enough, hu?"

Mako became flustered. "No, you're perfect." He blurted.

She raised her brows.

He blushed again. "I mean- ahem, I didn't mean that- I mean I did- I just…"

"Stop talking." She didn't mean to say it so rashly, but with everything that had happened with the war, she just wasn't in the mood.

He fake coughed into his fist and looked around. "Right."

She bit her lip and looked off to the side. "Right. Well, I'll catch ya later." She patted Bolin on the shoulder and walked past him to make her way to the front end of the ship.

Korra didn't bother to care about what the two brothers had been talking about. To her, it just didn't matter. Nothing mattered. The only thing that continued to run through her mind was her loss of connection to the first three elements she had ever mastered.

She reached the front end of the ship and leaned over the edge of the railing to gaze out at the horizon. Even though it had been comforting to be with Mako last night, it still didn't change anything. It didn't change that she would never bend anything besides air. It didn't change that she was no longer that watertribe girl from her past, and it didn't change that she was practically no longer the Avatar.

Sure, Republic City was safe, but she felt that that only happened because Amon ran off. To her it was just another sloppy accomplishment. She had fought Amon with no real plan and lost her bending, but what other choice had she had? He had to go down somehow, but now she couldn't bend…Now, she wasn't even herself anymore…

"Korra…"

She raised her brows and turned her attention to the firebender behind her.

Mako was scratching the side of his face with his index finger as his eyes sought the ground. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

She leaned back against the railing and crossed her arms. "I don't really want to talk right now. I have nothing to say." With a look of indifference she turned her eyes in another direction.

He sighed. "Korra, what I said back there, I didn't really mean it like that."

Ok, so she admitted it to herself. Maybe it did kind of bother her when he had said that, but at the same time she didn't want to talk about it….yet at the same time this was Mako…. She slanted her brows with sympathy, battling herself slightly. "Mako, it's fine. Really. I get it…" She shrugged and avoided his eyes. With everything that was on her mind, she definitely did not want to talk about this.

"No, you _don't _get it…" He took a few steps so that he was standing directly in front of her, and touched the side of her face with one hand. "Don't ever think that I don't want to touch you…" He placed his other hand at her hip and closed the space between them. "It's not just the physical attraction. I care about you…"

She just stared into his chest, unsure about how she should react to his closeness. One part of her wanted to flee, and the other wanted to see what would happen next. Her heart began to pound hard against her chest.

He leaned down to gently nuzzle the side of her neck, soon to be followed by the warm kisses only a firebender could give. "I'm here for you, Korra. I'm just being careful." Each kiss was followed by a tingle and she gripped his coat eagerly with a soft gasp. He responded with a soft push of hips against her thigh and began to kiss along her jaw line.

As those kisses began to near her lips, she panicked. She panicked and turned her face away only to be rewarded with a soft nuzzle into her collarbone. She blushed, taking a sorrowful glance at the firebender as he pressed his face into her neck and held her there, tightly pressed against the railing behind her. It was too much for her. She didn't just _like_ Mako. She loved him, and something in the way that he was touching her told her that he felt the same way. Now gripping his coat in resistance, she began to tense. Mako loved Korra and cared about Korra….but Korra knew that she wasn't herself anymore. She knew she wasn't the Avatar. She knew she could never bend again. She wasn't the same anymore and Mako couldn't possibly be with the girl she had now become. He had fallen in love with who she had been before, not who she was now. Her heart clenched in pain and she slipped away from his grasp in an instant, hugging herself tightly.

"Korra…" He stared in awe. He thought he had made the right move this time.

Korra looked away, slowly taking steps backward and trying not to cry. There was that unsteady ocean in her eyes and Mako didn't like it. "I'm sorry. I just- I cant right now." With a whip of her hair, she quickly turned and bolted in the opposite direction.

"Korra, wait!" He reached out to her as if he could catch her, but she just disappeared around the corner of one of the structures filled with rooms and equipment. He growled and jammed a heel into the lower part of the railing. How could he keep messing this up? He tightly gripped the railing and tensed his arms. Maybe he should just leave her alone…..but she had liked the way he was touching her. He could tell by the way she had gripped his coat and instinctually gave him more access to her neck. She had stayed still for him so that he could taste her mocha skin. Mako closed his eyes and bit his lip hard, visualizing it thoroughly in his mind. He hadn't been overwhelming that time. He had been gentle and she liked it, but why would she run off? He sighed and watched the bob and dip of the sea as the ship continued onward.

Mako knew that it all had to do with her bending somehow, but he just didn't know what he should do about it. What more could he possible do to help her? He had already tried to make her feel secure last night and he just wound up waking to empty arms and his scarf lying on his chest. He had hated that. He hated it all. Korra was being distant again and this time she was even being distant with _him_. He had gone from being five steps closer to her to being a hundred steps back. It was as if she didn't want him that close. Whatever the real reason was, Korra did not want him there and she wanted to be left alone.

He just didn't understand why it had seemed like she wanted to be near him and away from him at the same time. What could she be possibly thinking? If she wanted him to know, he figured she would have said something already. Until then, he would just remain clueless.

* * *

Korra rushed her way around the ship, head down, toward the stairway to the storage level when she ran smack into something solid. Before she could fall, she was caught by the shoulders. "Such impatience, Korra."

She took a step back and noticed the airbender clothing. "Tenzin." She met his gaze for a second and scratched the back of her head. "I thought you were up in the navigation room with Uncle Bumi."

He raised his brows and crossed his arms behind his back. "I came down to check on the rest of you, and it seems to me that I've come at the right time." He stroked his beard in speculation. "What seems to be the trouble, Korra?"

She tilted her head dubiously. "There's no trouble. Everyone is doing ok." She lifted a casual hand to signify her blasé and shrugged.

His grayish eyes softened slightly. "Except for you."

She lowered her eyes and dropped her arms to her sides. "It's just the same stuff. Nothing new. I'll be fine, Tenzin."

"Don't lose hope too soon, Korra. Katara may be able to restore your connections to the other elements."

"I know, you're right." She rubbed her arm timidly. "But what if I built up all of this hope just to be disappointed again? I don't think I could handle that." She shook her head repulsively and scowled. "It's one thing to lose my bending once, but to basically feel like I've lost it twice?" She made a few dramatic hand gestures.

Tenzin rested a hand on Korra's shoulder. "You are strong, Korra. Do not have doubt. We are to embrace what life throws at us even in the darkest of situations. Regardless of what the situation may be, it is something that we must experience. In the end, we learn to work around whatever obstructs our path."

She hesitated to completely absorb what he had said. What could she possibly learn from losing her bending? She raised her brow. "Is this more of your airbending mumbo jumbo?" she signed and patted his shoulder. "I hate to break it to you Tenzin, but I can already airbend. It's the _other_ three elements that I'm having a problem with. You know, earth, water, fire?… That sorta thing." She continued to walk past Tenzin and toward her destination. "But thanks anyway, I'll keep that in mind."

"Now, just a minute, Korra." He quickly turned around to watch as she walked away. "_Korra._" He sighed and rubbed his temples as she ignored him and continued on her way. "It seems that the only way now is to be patient with her…" He said to himself quietly.

**Note: I hope you guys liked it :)**

**Questions/Comments? Don't be afraid to give feedback :)**

**"Take a bite of the silver sandwich."- Prince Zuko :3**


	13. Fragile Hope part1: Keep Smiling

**Note: First off, I would like to say (for anyone who didnt already know), Nick not only will be making a Season 2 of LOK but they also ordered another 26 episodes for Books 3 and 4 xD Just thought I'd say that for anyone who didnt get the memo a week ago or so.**

**Ok, I'm a little happier with this chapter :) I split it into 2 parts only because the second half would have made this chapter super long lol…. I thought it would be nice to at least give you all the first half because the 2nd half is going to take me a bit of research. :p Plus, I've been dealing with a lot of college stuff lately…just more crap to worry about lol**

**Thanks for your support guys :) You have no idea how much it all really means to me. 333**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Legend of Korra.**

It had only been a day since Korra had slipped away from Mako after he had tried to kiss her on the top deck. Ever since then, she had been slyly avoiding long conversations and mainly just sticking to herself. She didn't want to talk much. She didn't want to hear how sorry everyone was anymore. She just wanted to get to the South Pole already. Maybe Tenzin had been right. Maybe she did have a chance at regaining her bending. Katara was one of the greatest waterbending healers. Though Korra was afraid to have hope, she couldn't help but allow a small spark of it thrive within her….even if it was only a flicker away from disappearing all together.

Korra was sitting down in the storage leaning back against Naga like she always did when she was upset. The ship felt colder now so she wore her dark blue parka. The ship should havebeen arriving at the South Pole soon. That was at least one thing to be grateful for.

Aside from reaching her destination, she had been pondering about what lesson could possibly be learned from her situation. In conclusion…..she had come up with nothing and no longer wished to think about anything….not even about Mako…

In order to occupy herself, she held one hand suspended over the other and focused on producing a swirling ball of air. She managed to do it quite easily, but it required her entire focus. After all, air wasn't something visible like the other three elements. It was something that must be felt. That must have been why air was the element of freedom. There was no way to reach a connection with the air unless the spirit of that person was free. Though, Korra's spirit wasn't always so liberal. That thought caused Korra to struggle with the growing bundle of air in her palms, but she still managed to keep it going.

Naga curiously lifted her head at the sound of a creak in the stairs.

"Practicing your airbending?"

The ball of wind instantly fell apart into the still air as if it never existed. Korra's eyes widened. "Lin, I didn't hear you coming."

Beifong leaned against the bottom of the staircase with her arms crossed. "You're getting good at that."

Korra shrugged. "I guess so."

Her expression softened sympathetically. "Tenzin told me to let you know that we should be docking in a few hours. We need everyone to be ready."

"Thanks, Lin." She drew her knees up to her chest and adjusted the light of the lantern that she had set up on the floor. Lin's gaze was boring into her and the intensity made her self-conscious.

"Don't let their pity get to you, Korra. I've seen how strong you are, and that is something that is a part of you with or without your bending."

Korra lifted her gaze toward Beifong and raised her brows worriedly. "It's not so much that their pity bothers me." She lifted a hand as if to weight an option. "I just don't feel the same anymore." She looked away.

"I understand." Her eyes drifted off to the side. "It was a part of you, just as my bending was a part of me…..but you must always keep fighting, Korra." She walked over to her and reached down to put a hand on her shoulder. "Stay strong. You are strong because of who you are, not because of you bending."

She slightly frowned, contemplating her words.

Some one cleared their throat and both Korra and Beifong turned their attention toward the stairway. "Should I come at another time?" Mako asked politely as he shoved his hands into his coat pockets. "I don't want to interrupt anything important."

Beifong straightened her posture, crossing an arm over her chest and waving a casual hand. "She's all yours." Remembering the way Mako had been protective of Korra on the night she escaped from Tarrlok's cabin, she figured that maybe it was important that the two spoke with one another. Aside from Tenzin, Mako was the only one that was personally close with Korra. The way Mako had kept a close eye on her had said it all. She headed for the staircase. "Remember what I said, Korra." She then disappeared up the stairs.

Korra hugged her knees to her chest and looked away from the firebender. "Hey, Mako."

He walked over to her, clearing his throat and pulling out two containers from his coat pockets. "I brought you some lychee juice."

Her eyes widened and she instantly averted her attention in his direction. "Really?" She grinned. "Where? I didn't know we _had_ lychee juice!"

Overjoyed by the grin on her face, Mako went over and sat down beside her with a wide smile. "I asked Tenzin." He gladly handed her a container of lychee juice and leaned back against Naga. Boy, it had been a while since he had seen her smile like that. That childish grin of hers was gold, and he would do anything in his power to keep it that way. He opened his container of lychee juice. "I just thought I'd come down here and have a drink with you. I don't think I've tried this juice before." He turned the container around in his hand with curiosity.

Korra was already opening hers and taking her first gulp. "This is _great,_ Mako." She took another gulp, unable to stop the smirk from crookedly curving up the side of her face. "So, you've never tried lychee juice?"

He slanted is brows slightly, enjoying every second of this moment with her smiling. "Not at all." Raising the container hesitantly to his lips, he took a small sip and thought about it for a bit. "Not bad…It's very sweet." He glanced at Korra and smiled softly. "I like it."

"Awesome." She smirked and tapped her container against his. "After all the exploring that I've been doing on this ship, I'm surprised I didn't find any yet." She pouted.

"Maybe Tenzin didn't want you to find any. You might drink it all." He raised his brow and glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

She frowned and twisted her mouth to the side playfully. "Shut up, Mako." She gave him a teasing sock to the shoulder.

He grinned, taking another sip and then glancing down at his container. "I was surprised to see Lin down here."

She lightly chuckled. "I think she was trying to have a heart to heart with me. Definitely out of her comfort zone. It was nice though." She drank some more of her lychee juice.

Mako slightly smirked and picked at the edge of his container with his index finger. This entire time he had really just been stalling time. Now, it was time to say the real reason he came down to talk. He cleared his throat lightly. "I actually wanted to apologize for yesterday." He shifted the container to his other hand and picked at the knee of his pant leg.

Korra raised her brows, looking at him with wide blue eyes. "It's ok."

"No…"

She tilted her head curiously.

It amazed him how even though he had done something wrong, she acted as if it had never bothered her. "I feel like that's all I've been doing lately. I keep apologizing to you. Instead of giving you the space that you need right now, I keep doing everything wrong."

She watched him carefully, taking note of the shameful flicker in his amber eyes and the way his dark brows slowly pulled downward. Her eyes softened and she placed a hand on the one he had at his knee. She knew he had been trying very hard to be there for her. It was as evident as red on white. "That's not true. Mako, you've been there for me more than anyone else has. I mean, I appreciate _everyone's_ help, but….you've been trying so hard." Watching the way their hands looked together, she lightly squeezed his hand. "I'm not acting like this because you're doing anything wrong….It's because you're doing everything right…" She met his eyes boldly this time.

He raised his brows with a bit of surprise. "What?"

Her eyes sought the ground and she shyly withdrew her hand. "But….I just want to focus on getting to the South Pole right now. I'm worried about my bending, and I'm a little lost."

He nodded slowly. "Of course."

In reality, Korra wasn't really telling him the entire truth. The truth was, even though she loved Mako, she wasn't a hundred percent sure if he felt the same way. Sure, she had felt it in the way he had touched her the other day, but the feeling was so intense that it confused her. It also kind of scared her. What if he didn't actually feel the same way? What if Katara couldn't fix her bending and she was no longer the same person anymore? Would he still have feelings for her? Would she be ok with herself, in general?

Korra slowly drank a bit more from her lychee juice.

"I just want you to keep smiling, Korra." He began to push himself to his feet with one hand.

Her eyes found his in an instant. "You're leaving?"

He stood and took a swig from his container. "Come get some fresh air. You've been down here way too long and way too often." He lent a hand to help her up.

"Haven't you heard? I can airbend. I'll just airbend me some fresh air when I need it. I'll be fine."

He raised his brow sarcastically with a stern expression. "Korra." He beckoned her with his hand and held it out again. "Come on."

She sighed and let him help her to her feet. "You're persistent, aren't you? I'm beginning to believe that the lychee juice was only meant to soften me up." Raising her brow, she crossed an arm over her chest while taking another few sips.

He smiled. "I'm glad it's working. Now, come on, Watertribe Girl." He reached out and gently tugged her toward the stairs.

She portrayed a frolic expression and followed his lead. "Whatever, _City Boy_, just as long as you get me more lychee juice."

He glanced at her on the way up the stairs. "More?"

She chugged down the last of her juice. "Hey, you wanna keep me in a good mood, right?"

He gave her a caustic smirk. "Fine." Of course he would get her some more lychee juice. He didn't care what she wanted, just as long as it kept her smiling.

**Note: Hope you all enjoyed….It wasnt anything super exciting but…..I had a little fun writing it and I liked the way this one flowed more than the last chapter.**

**Questions/Comments? Feel free to state your opinion. :3**

**"Who set Toph on fire?"- Sokka :3**


	14. Fragile Hope part2: Truth Be Told

**Note: I am so sorry I hadn't been able to update sooner. I have been so busy with college lol :3 but yay I finally got out chapter 14. It took me a little while because of all of the transitioning and emotions and what not, but I really ope that I covered it well. It was a bit difficult. The next chapter I write should be the last chapter. :p Hopefully you guys will like that one because I'm going to have a bit of fun with it.**

**Once this story is done, I might write a second part to it that follows Book 2 of the series. I'm not sure yet, but let me know what you guys think about that hehe. Either way I might write it, I'm not sure…..errrr…Oh yeah! I was also thinking about maybe writing a collection of random MAKORRA scenes which will, i promise you, include smut and lemon and fluff and all of that stuff. That's something I'm thinking about doing.**

**Thanks for all of the reviews guys :3 Love it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Legend of Korra.**

Korra had thought it had been nice to put aside her current issues and get some fresh air with Mako. He was right. She did need to get out, but, not long after, she had been able to see the icy shore of the South Pole. Her happiness had been short lived and all of her burdens weighed her shoulders again.

As the shore drew nearer, she could think of nothing more than to step back as everyone began to crowd the front of the ship to get a view of the dock. Then that sinking feeling began to take over. It was as if some sort of dark devastation had anchored itself deep into the pit of her chest. All of the happiness that she had experienced earlier had no longer mattered….

Korra was just an empty shell of what used to be the Avatar.

Mako was some sort of lost hope.

That watertribe girl?…..She was gone.

While everyone crowded the front of the ship, Korra stealthily slipped away to make sure Naga was ready. That was all she wanted to do, and after that, she just stayed down there. Somehow Naga was one of the only links to her inner-self, the watertribe girl that she had been. Naga was as close as she could get and Korra wasn't gonna let that go.

Once they had arrived at the wharf, Korra exited the ship in silence. She didn't wait for anyone. She just walked, keeping Naga close at her side her with a hand on her harness. Looking around at the white snowy landscape, she could feel the essence of home…..but she just didn't feel like she completely belonged there anymore. All of the warm memories of her past left her as cold as the icy air of the South Pole….as cold as the gust of wind that nipped across her face and crept down the neck of her parka at that precise moment.

She paused to gaze at the unique and familiar Watertribe buildings.

"Wondering off on your own again, hu?"

Korra recognized Mako's voice in an instant, but she never turned around to look at him. "You're always there, aren't you?"

"As long as you don't mind me here." He took a breath and glanced back at the dock. "We should wait for the others." He looked at her again and shoved his hands in his pockets. With all of this open terrain, he really didn't want her to go meandering about. Finding her would be a pain, and keeping her in one place was already a pain in itself. He hadn't liked how she randomly slipped away when they had neared the dock earlier, but he had let her be. He knew that she needed her space. Plus, there hadn't been many places for her to disappear to while on the ship. So, he knew that she had most likely been safe.

The others had finally caught up to Mako and Korra, and they all traveled together to meet up at Katara's home. Her house hadn't been too hard to find. Leaving Naga outside, they each went up the staircase one by one and entered Katara's home. Korra was the first one in, and hung her parka on the coat hook. The first thing she did was run to her parents, Tonraq and Senna, the two other ties to her past. She had missed them so much. Being in their embrace smelled of home to her, something she had missed. She did her best to hold back on the urge of breaking down on them and took a breath, taking a step back and turning toward Katara.

Katara's wise eyes met her gaze sorrowfully and she opened her arms for a hug. Korra trudged over to the old woman with a sad smirk on her face and hugged her tightly. The tears burned at the corners of her eyes. They threatened to fall, but she never cried. She just held on tighter to Katara, the woman who had taught her everything about her waterbending….everything about her native element.

Katara rubbed Korra's back in small comforting circles. "It is good to see you, Korra." She said quietly. "You have come a long way."

"It's good to see you too, Katara." Korra slowly pulled away from her embrace to allow Tenzin to greet his mother.

"Mother." He gave her worried eyes due to his concern for Korra and leaned down to hug her.

"I will do my best, Tenzin." She pulled away and touched the side of his face before looking around at the others in her home. "I take it these are friends of Korra?" She softly smiled at Bolin, Mako, and Asami, already recognizing Beifong and Pema. "It is nice to see you here too, Lin. Pema."

"And you too, Katara." Beifong gave a slight bow of her head.

Pema smiled. "Always a pleasure."

Katara nodded and reached out a hand to Korra. "How about we get started now, shall we?"

Korra ducked her head dolefully and followed Katara into the back room. Katara closed the door behind them and gestured Korra to the back of the room where she usually did her healing. There were two turquoise pillows on the floor and some healing equipment.

Korra walked over to the pillow and sat down.

Katara followed and sat on the pillow in front of Korra. Noticing the way Korra stared down at the floorboards, she cleaned her hands in a small bucket of water and decided to break the silence. "I cannot guarantee that this will work, Korra, but I _will_ do my best." She dried her hands on a clean towel.

Korra smiled weakly. "It's ok, Katara." Although she had said that, she definitely did not feel ok.

Katara stood once more and walked over to a chest to grab a few more pillows. She lined them up with the pillow that Korra was sitting on and returned to where she had been sitting. "For starters, I'm going to need you to lie down on those pillows and relax."

Korra did what she was told and lied down on her back. "I hope this works…"

"Me too. Close your eyes." Katara leaned over and held a hand inches above Korra's forehead. Korra closed her eyes and the process began.

The relaxing was easier said than done, in Korra's opinion, but she had known that Katara only said that so that Korra would relax her mind and not stress for the time being….but she couldn't. As much as Korra wanted to hope, she couldn't help but have a bad feeling about it all. Something about the healing process was taking a lot longer than it normally should. If this didn't work, everything Korra had worked for or hoped for was over. As much as she didn't like it, she knew it was.

The exhilaration of bending would be gone…

Katara had tried her best. She had tried every method that she could think of. _Anything!_….. anything to bring Korra's bending back, but whatever Amon had done to critically sever her ties to the other elements could not be fixed. She couldn't connect the pathways or redirect the chi. Korra's bending was gone, and this time Katara _knew_ it was for good.

How could she possibly tell Korra that she would no longer be able to bend? Korra was so strong, yet so fragile at the same time. The news of her permanent loss of bending would shatter her from the inside out. How could she tell that to her student? Korra had been an excellent waterbender, just as she had been with every other element.

Korra noticed a sudden stillness in the air and opened her eyes. "Katara?" When she looked up to meet her gaze, her heart clenched painfully at what she saw. The look in Katara's eyes was not happy and Korra didn't like it. She refused to believe it. This couldn't be happening to her. She instantly sat up on her palms. "_Katara?_"

Katara lowered her eyes. "I am sorry, Korra."

"It worked, didn't it?" The pain she had felt on the ship hit her all in one moment and her chest tightened as she anxiously watched the expression on Katara's face, waiting for it to change to something more uplifting….hoping that she had mistaken her apology for something else…

Katara sighed and pursed her lips. "I did everything that I could, Korra."

"_No…_" Her eyes widened. Pain struck her to the very core and her body tensed. "Maybe you forgot one other method. Did you? There has to be another way, right?…"

Katara gently touched Korra's hand as it tightly bunched into one of the turquoise pillows. "I have tried everything. I am sorry, Korra. I will give you a minute to yourself while I take a step outside to talk with Tenzin."

Unsure of how to react or feel, Korra relaxed her hand and loosened her shoulders slightly. "It's ok, Katara." She said quietly. Though deep inside, she hurt and flared with anger for hurting so much. She wanted to fume because she wanted to cry….because she couldn't be that frivolous Avatar anymore with the careless grin on her face. She could never completely be Korra…

Katara gave her a sad smile before standing up and leaving the room.

Korra rubbed a stressful hand over her face and stood up, wandering toward the middle of the room, not quite sure of what to do with herself. She sat down on a turquoise rug and crossed her legs.

Now what?

It was really over now, wasn't it?

Whatever barriers she had used to stifle the pain were threatening to shatter again. Katara was the greatest healer in the world, yet not even she could restore Korra's bending…..This really was it….there was no turning back now. This was the end.

Korra was no more than an airbender….

Due to a loss of patience, Korra suddenly stood and headed for the door. She couldn't be in there anymore. She needed to get out. She wanted to be alone. For once, she didn't want to be reminded of the past….for once, not a damn thing mattered anymore.

She walked through the door to the front room and everyone was staring at her. They all felt sorry for her… She could tell, and she hated it. It was just one more reason to walk out and be alone.

Tenzin adjusted Meelo in his arms and gave Korra a look of confidence. "It's going to be alright, Korra."

Her brows slanted hopelessly as the pain threatened to seep through. "No…It's not." And that was the truth. It was about time she admitted it to herself. It was _not_ ok anymore. She was not Korra. Without looking at anyone, she quickly walked over to grab her parka, brushing by Mako carelessly and exiting out the front door.

That was it. Nothing was ok anymore.

She slid her arms into her parka and made her way down the stairs. Nothing mattered anymore. It was all over….everything…

As she started to make her way toward Naga, she heard the sound of someone trying to catch up to her.

"Korra, wait!"

She stopped and glared at Mako from over her shoulder. "Go away." She stated coldly. He was the last thing she wanted to deal with right now. She didn't want intimacy. She didn't want romance. She didn't want anything! She wasn't herself anymore, everything was over, and she just wanted to be alone.

"I will, but I just want you to know I'm here for you…" Mako knew that she needed her space. He had already experienced that from the time they had been in the underground to the time they had been on the ship. He could tell when she needed her space. All he wanted to do was reassure her. She was going through a lot and he wanted to be there for her.

"No. I mean, go _away! Back_ to Republic City!" She gestured toward the coastal region and crossed her arms without meeting his gaze. "Get on with your life…"

Mako cringed internally. She was being so rash. She was never so blunt with him. Had he done something wrong? Didn't she get that he was only focused on her now? Didn't she know that she was all he cared about? He was confused. "What are you talking about?" He frowned.

Her frown slightly deepened. "I'm not the Avatar anymore. You don't need to do me any favors." She turned and continued to walk toward Naga. What good were they together anyway? She wasn't the Avatar. She was just an airbender, and everything was done. It was OVER….everything was over. Didn't he get it? She couldn't be that girl she had been anymore and she failed as the Avatar. She saved one city and failed the world.

Mako frowned. She was just being ridiculous. Before she could continue any farther, he reached out a hand and grabbed her shoulder to stop her. "I don't care if you're the Avatar or _not_." He boldly stated.

She stopped, curious as to what he was getting at. She slowly turned around to face him.

He sighed and shyly looked off to the side. "Listen…When Tarrlok took you, I was losing my mind at the thought of never seeing you again." He gestured toward himself and met her hurt oceanic gaze. Then he looked off to the side again, feeling slightly timid. He needed her to understand how serious he was. He wanted her to know how much he truly cared and what she meant to him. With a rapid increase of his heart rate, he decided to lay it all out. This was the truth. "I realized that… I _love_ you, Korra." He took a step closer, dying to take that painful look out of her eyes, and touched her face.

Her eyes softened and she touched his hand in hesitation. With the sudden mix of emotions she was feeling, she found it too hard to meet the burning intensity in his amber eyes. She needed to be alone. She needed to think. Her eyes abruptly turned away as she pulled his hand away from her face. She hated to have to back away from the one person she truly cared about, but she was overwhelmed. This was too much. She took a short breath and hesitated. "I can't." She immediately tore away from his presence and bolted toward Naga, hastily jumping onto her back and riding away toward the ocean. She just couldn't think about Mako when she was too busy worrying about if she would ever be herself anymore and how she would ever be able to fulfill her duties as the Avatar again…

After hearing the small quarrel between Mako and Korra, Tenzin decided to come out side for a moment with Mako. He approached him with a bit of concern. He knew the firebender cared for her dearly, but he also knew that Mako was probably very confused. "We need to be patient with her. It will take time for her to accept what has happened."

Mako slumped his shoulders and lowered his eyes. Tenzin was right. Though, it amazed him that such an impatient girl required so much patience as an individual. He found it to be ironic, yet he also found it frustrating. His patience was always a bit sketchy when it came to Korra. She turned his world in all sorts of directions. A lot of times he couldn't even think straight, like right then. He couldn't think of anything but Korra and how she might be feeling. Somewhere deep inside himself, he knew he was going to end up looking for her in the end…

**Note: Well I really hope that you all enjoyed that. Let me know what you guys think :) I'm not sure when I will have the next chapter up only because I'm very busy with getting my college stuff organized but it should definitely be by this week or next week.**

**Questions/Comments? feel free to state your opinion :3**

**"One does not simply pop in on the Earth King."**


	15. Breach

**Note: Argg! Ok so…. NEXT chapter will actually be the final chapter. lol I didn't realize how long this part of the chapter was going to end up being so….I shall make chapter 16 THEE final chapter. Gee, I guess as a writer things don't always go as planned… lol Oh well…I had a little fun writing some of this chapter but I think maybe next chapter will be more enjoyable x3 We shall see.**

**Thanks for the reviews! x3 I love to hear what you guys think. It really helps me in case I need to improve on anything. So don't be afraid to let me know whats up ^.^**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Legend of Korra.**

Korra hopped off of Naga the moment she noticed a cliff. There was something about being high up on a cliff that made her feel slightly at ease. Somewhere she could let herself go. Something about being so high up made the world look a lot clearer and less confusing, but what made this cliff so different was the ocean. Too bad she couldn't enjoy it this time….Instead, it was just a way to get away from everything….just so she could break. She darted over to the edge of the cliff and stopped to gaze out at the horizon. It was all that water and the strong connection it had with the pain in her chest that brought the tears to her eyes, and caused her to fall her knees once more. Her barriers were broken, and she shattered, tears leaking into her dark blue parka as she hugged her knees to her chest. Korra would never be Korra again and she would only bend the air. Nothing would ever be the same…

Sensing someone at her right, she wiped her eyes and peeked over her shoulder to see the bottom end of airbender robes. "Not now, Tenzin, I just want to be left alone…" She sniffed and unsuccessfully tried to hold back a few sobs, never looking up at the elder airbender. No one needed to see her crying. Everything was over and she just wanted to be left alone.

"But you called _me_ here."

Korra jumped at the sound of a voice that she was not normally used to and quickly turned to look up at who was really standing beside her. "Aang…" Her eyes widened and she stopped crying due to her surprise. What was Aang doing there?

He smiled. "You're finally connected with your spiritual self."

Korra slowly stood up and slanted her brows with curiosity. "How?" Spiritual self? What was he talking about? And why was he there so suddenly? He looked nothing like a vision at all.

He smiled softly. "When we hit our lowest point we are open to the greatest change."

Suddenly all of the past avatars appeared behind him, and then it all made sense. Tenzin was right. There _was_ something to be learned from all of this. Korra had gotten in touch with her spiritual side, and that was the main thing she had always lacked as the avatar. It took her to lose everything and all of her bending, except for airbending, in order to accomplish it.

Aang took a step closer to her, resting one hand on her shoulder and pressing his thumb against the center of her forehead. His hands began to glow and Korra instinctually knew what he was doing and closed her eyes. He was restoring her bending. He was healing her. Korra was becoming more than just Korra….She was becoming the Avatar…

Avatar Korra.

When she finally opened her eyes, she felt a surge of power and control. All of her connections were restored and she could feel every single element. Every jolt of energy that they held. She was herself again! A better self!…and she was in the Avatar State…

Using a spiraling gust of air, she levitated herself high above the cliff and shot out a wave of each element to rejoice…air…fire…earth…and _finally_, her native element, water.… The ocean that she had been longing to connect with welled up and crashed hard into the side of the cliff with massive force and a loud splash. The ocean spray stuck to her face and tinged her with the scent of salt water. Her heart welled up with joy….She was the Watertribe Girl… With a hint of satisfaction, she slowly lowered herself back down to the cliff and exited the Avatar State followed by a breath of relief. Everything was back to normal, but better.

Now that she was more aware of her surroundings, a small tingle told her that, once again, someone had been watching her. Curiously raising her brows, she slowly turned to find her spectator. It was Mako. He was standing next to Naga. Her heart jerked with some sort of nervous excitement. Crap! Had he really seen all of that? The idea left her a bit flustered, but when she met his gaze, he smiled at her. It was a proud smile, and that alone washed away the fluster with a sea of excitement. She grinned childishly with a sparkle in her aqua eyes and darted after him with impatience. He was proud of her. He was happy for her. He was only looking at her, but not just what was on the outside. He was looking at all of her…and she felt it…He really was there for her, wasn't he?

Mako walked forward to meet her with open arms as she ran toward him and tackled him with a hug, her arms circling his neck. His heart sped rapidly, never expecting her to ever rush at him with such delight. He took the momentum of her tackle and swung her around happily. Was this really Korra? He had never seen her so open to him. He had never seen her smile like that and look at him in that manner. There was so much energy that radiated from just that look in her eyes. It made him all feverish and timid. She looked at him as if he were the greatest thing in the world.

As she settled her feet on the ground, she kept her arms around his neck and locked his gaze. This was it. This was what she wanted. Looking deeper into his liquid amber eyes, she realized this was where she _belonged_. She was herself and more, and this was how it was meant to happen. With a soft smirk she touched the side of his face. "I love you too." Closing her eyes, she leaned up and gently pushed her lips against his. He kissed back and a tender tingle spread throughout her body. So, she kissed deeper, taking his lower lip into her mouth and letting her impatience get the best of her. Her hand tightly gripped the back of his hair and she pressed into him hungrily. His hands tightened around her waist and he let out a soft groan. "Korra…"

She was just full of surprises, wasn't she?

She pulled away from the kiss with a grin. "My bending!"

His brows slanted upward, not expecting those words to spill from her mouth, but he smiled because she was just being Korra.

She rashly broke away form his embrace, smiling more than ever, and leapt into the air. There she spun around in a three-sixty and held both fists excitedly to her chest. "Whoo-hoo! Yes!" She jumped up and down a few more times and waterbent a few snow balls at Mako's chest. Her laughter chimed musically in his ears as she dashed back over to tackle him with another kiss, unsure of what else to do with herself.

He held her with a bit of surprise and kissed back, letting the fiery essence of all that was Korra wash over him completely. He didn't know what to do with it all other than to just go along with it. Her excitement was impenetrable and utterly whelming. He didn't know what to expect or how to react, but it was ok because he could feel that she was controlling what would happen next anyway.

She pulled away from the kiss and gave him a skittish grin. "I could get used to this." She raised her brow and gently chewed her lower lip to taste where his mouth had once been.

He smirked crookedly. "Oh really?…" His hands slid up her shoulders to cup her face. She still wore that goofy grin of hers. So badly, he wanted to tell her how beautiful she was, but how could he ever begin to describe it?

Mesmerized by the amber of his eyes, she tugged him downward by his scarf and kissed him again. She didn't want to _wait_ for him to do it himself. Her lips pushed against his roughly this time and she tenderly bit his lower lip and let it drag between her teeth as she pulled away. His body tensed at the flary sensation and her sudden urgency, turning his amber eyes molten. One hand immediately found the small of her back and dragged her hips to his with a small jerk. She bit her lip to hold back a smirk and rested a hand on his chest. Her other hand drifted upward to caress his jaw. She knew she was being a bit of a tease. "I have to tell Tenzin."

He tightened his grip on her, slanting his brows and leaning down to nuzzle her neck. "Tenzin can wait." Her oceanic fragrance dominated his senses completely. She smelled of salt water with a sweet hint of coconut and chai. His blood rushed slightly as he took it all in. He had never wanted her so badly as he did now.

"_Mako.._" She raised her brows and gave him the slightest push of resistance. She didn't want to , but she had to.

Oh, he knew that tone. He mentally sighed and pulled away. "You're right." He brushed back a falling strand from her bangs.

She raised her brows and her eyes widened with a bit of shock. She held up her index finger. "Wait, run that by me again." One brow raised with a bit of satisfaction and a soft smirk. "I'm what?"

Mako smiled, pulling away and tugging her by the wrist. That girl was too much. She was getting way ahead of herself. "Oh, we _have_ to tell Tenzin!"

She followed behind him and Naga tagged along. "_Hey!_ Don't avoid the question." She pointed at him with bold accusation. "_You_ just said I was right! It's about time _somebody_ said it!" She threw her hands up and let them fall back down with emphasis.

He pulled her toward him and held her shoulders to guide her on their walk back toward Katara's home. "I think you've had enough wins for today."

She shrugged his hands off her shoulders. "Yeah, yeah, whatever… And I can walk on my own, City Boy. Don't need you to guide me." She gave a caustic smirk. "Pfft! I know where Katara lives." She tossed a hand of blasé and backpedaled so that she could face him. "This is my hometown." Her hands made a sudden gesture of her surroundings. "_Water tribe_." She gave him a prideful expression as she spun back around to continue forward.

He just raised his brow with a hint of sarcasm as they walked to Katara's house, but deep inside he was really smiling to see that Korra was happy again. Before, he had been afraid that she would never have that smug look on her face without it being short lived.

* * *

The moment they arrived, Korra burst through the front door. "Tenzin! Mom! Dad!"

Everyone directed his or her attention at her sudden outburst.

"I can bend again!"

Tenzins eyes widened from across the room. "What?"

"I can bend!" Korra grinned and quickly walked over to Tenzin.

"But how?"

"I saw Aang!" She cleared her throat and attempted to calm her voice. "Ahem- I saw Aang….and he gave me back my bending. Lin!" She quickly turned toward Beifong who was sitting on a bench. "I think I can bring your bending back. Aang used his energybending on me and I really think I understand how to use it now. I mean, Aang took away Yakone's bending. I just _know_ that I can bring yours back, Lin!" She shook both fists, struggling to restrain her excitement.

Then Mako came up behind Korra and rested both hands on her shoulders. "I _know_ she can."

Korra looked back at him with wide interested eyes and then smiled once she met his gaze. He had faith in her. She reached up and pressed one hand over one he had on her shoulder. "I can." She met Lin's gaze with confidence.

Tenzin nodded. "Then let's give it a try."

**Note: I hope you guys enjoyed it. I just know that if people say something, then I'm doing a good job. lol And when no one says anything I'm thinking, "gotta work harder." x3**

**Questions/Comments? Don't be afraid to say anything. :)**

**PS- If you're really enjoying the fanfic and the way I write you should like my Avatar Korra page. I'll be posting every so often whenever I come up with a new fic, a drawing, or anything LOK and MAKORRA really. :3 Feel free to use it as a way to express any sort of LOK fanlore and discussion :) I've posted the link on my Fanfiction Profile page. ENJOY!**

******"Watertribe…" -Sokka**


	16. This Was Simple

**Note: So I had a nice talk with a pretty hardcore fan of "Finding Korra". Her pen name is NyaGirl and she's hella awesome! ^.^ I had this talk with her and she helped me decide that maybe I should post half of the last chapter while I'm still finishing the rest. After all, the chapter ended up being way longer than I ever expected it to be and NyaGirl pointed out to me that it would really suck to make you guys wait for the "entire" thing to be finished….and she's right. I would hate to make you guys wait another week so…Vua la!**

**Enjoy! Hopefully I finish the other half this weekend. Just a lot of editing and revising.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Legend of Korra.**

Korra had succeeded in restoring Beifong's bending. After seeing how Aang had done it to her, it hadn't been very hard to do the same to Beifong. Korra was a quick learner, after all. Her energybending had amazed everyone. She truly was incredible. Tenzin had even resided in calling her "Avatar Korra." That alone had caused Korra to well up with pride.

Everything was just as Korra had though it should be. She had her bending back with the plus of being able to airbend, energybend, and go into the Avatar State. Then there was Mako…

Due to all of the good news, Tonraq and Senna had decided to invite everyone to dinner that evening. It would be a bit before dinner would be ready so Korra, the airbender kids, and the rest of Team Avatar decided to wander about outside while they waited.

"Whooo!" Korra ran and jumped into a large pile of snow while Asami and Bolin helped the airbender kids build snowmen. She laughed hard, rolling onto her back and looking up at Mako standing over her. "This is awesome! I'm so glad that my parents invited you guys over for dinner." She sat up on her palms and raised her brows. "They said if we needed a place to stay for the night that you guys are all welcome to sleep here."

Asami began to roll a ball of snow. "Aww, tell your parents I said thanks, Korra."

Bolin punched a fist into the air. "_Sweet!_ I call dibs on rooming with Korra!" He quickly balled a glob of snow and threw it at the side of Mako's face.

Mako frowned with a grin and bent down to grab some snow. "In your dreams, Bo!" He chucked the snow at Bolin's face.

Ikki stamped her feet and crossed her arms. "That's not fair! I wanna room with Korra!"

Korra laughed lightly. "Sorry, Ikki, my parents exclusively invited Team Avatar. Maybe you can stay one night in my room with me when we get back to Air Temple Island."

Ikki pouted. "Fine. You've got a deal, _Avatar_." She narrowed her eyes and pointed an accusational finger at Korra before going over to help Asami make a giant snowball.

Korra made a confused expression at Ikki's attitude and was suddenly caught off guard by a splash of snow to the shoulder. Her eyes widened, taking note of Mako and his impish grin. Her brows drew downward with a smile. "Is that a challenge, Mr. Hat Trick?" She brushed the snow off of her parka and boldly got to her feet.

Bolin came up and rested an elbow on Korra's shoulder. "Wait, so I still get dibs on rooming with you, right?" He pointed at Korra and glanced between she and Mako.

Mako frowned. "You would be rooming with me, bro."

He took a breath and sighed sympathetically, slanting his brows upward. "No offense, Mako, but Korra is way cooler."

Korra crossed her arms and gave a confident smirk. "You know, normally my parents probably wouldn't allow a guy to room with me but…" She jerked a thumb toward Bolin. "I might actually try to pull a few strings for this guy."

Bolin gave a wide cocky grin and continued to lean on Korra's shoulder.

Mako pouted at his brother. "Hey, whose side are you on?"

He raised his brows casually. "Korra's, of course!" He smiled.

Mako crossed his arms and met Korra's gaze with a bit of disbelief. "You would really try to pull some strings just because he called you cool?' He looked at her scornfully. He didn't want _anyone_ rooming with Korra unless it was he himself, to be honest.

She pretended to be more focused on picking at her nail. "No. It's because he said I'm cooler than _you._" She met his gaze, brows slanted upward and a childish grin on her face. She was totally toying with him to get a reaction. For whatever reason, she enjoyed teasing the broody firebender.

His eyes narrowed with ridicule. What was she playing at?

Korra tilted her head empathetically. "Aww, loosen up, City Boy." She waterbent a snowball and smashed it on top of his head.

Bolin cringed, watching as the snow slowly slid off of Mako's hair. "_Ohhhh!_ That can't be good."

Mako kept still with his eyes narrowed on Korra, while she resided in beaming at him with a large smile and challenging gaze. They just stared each other in the eyes, her raging ocean versus his steady blaze. He realized she was teasing him, and he liked it. Something about it got him all excited and playful. A smirk teased the right corner of his mouth and he leaned down to scoop up a handful of snow. "Is that a challenge, _Watertribe Girl_?" Finally his smirk curved the corners of his lips as he took his time sculpting a perfect ball of snow.

She was always putting up a fight, wasn't she? Always challenging him somehow?

She waved her hand at her side in continuous fluid circles to swirl up the snow at her feet. The art of her hand movements was something only a waterbender could achieve, and Mako admired it completely.

"Only if you're good enough to _make_ it one." She raised her brow competitively.

Bolin stopped leaning on Korra's shoulder and raised his hands harmlessly. "Ut-oh! Is it about to get dangerous over here?" It confused him why the two were always at it with each other, yet at the same time he saw that it was just the way their chemistry worked. Apparently they loved to challenge each other and poke fun.

Mako tossed the ball of snow at Korra's hand and interrupted her waterbending. The snow dropped to the ground lifelessly. "No waterbending, _Avatar_." He raised his brow with a cunning smirk.

Korra cracked her knuckles. "Whatever, City Boy. You're on!"

Bolin raised his brows. "The conflict between you two never _ends_! So much violence!"

Korra bent down to make a few snowballs while keeping a wary eye on Mako. "Well, this chump over here likes to challenge me."

Mako raised his brow and started to make his own snowballs. "Says the instigator."

"You started it!" She pointed at him bluntly.

She was right. He did start it, but it was only because of how much he loved her fire and that playful smirk on her face. He loved the way that small change in her energy enveloped him and made his heart beat faster.

A snowball flew and smacked him in the chest. "Hey, I never said we were starting yet!" He frowned, but couldn't resist the urge to smile.

"You only set one rule!" She raised her brow.

Another one flew and smacked him in the head. He growled. "_Korra!_" That hit irritated him, but he liked it for some reason. It had something to do with the fact that it was Korra.

She laughed hard as the snow slid from his brow, and held onto her stomach from the gleeful fit she was having. Just that serious unimpressed look on his face was enough to give her a spark of satisfaction.

_Smack!_

A snowball hit her straight in the face and halted her laughter within fraction of a second.

Mako chuckled. "You're way too cocky, Korra." He bent down to gather more snow as the snow fell from her face to reveal a vengeful pout. Her confidence was overdone, but that's what he loved about her. He would never understand where she got all of that nerve.

Bolin scratched his head. "So how does one win a snowball fight, exactly?

"Like THIS!" With a sinister smirk on her face, Korra rashly waterbent a huge glob of snow, lifting both arms at her sides, and hurling it at Mako. He looked up from his snow-gathering with wide eyes and instinctually threw a flaming fist toward the over-sized blob of snow as if to block it. Unfortunately, the snow absorbed his flame with a hiss and knocked him hard into a small pile of snow. He groaned in pain and slightly struggled to move beneath the snow pile that covered him.

Bolin raised his brows. "Gee, Korra! Remind me to _never ever_ have a snowball fight with you." He shook his hands in disagreement. "_Ever…_"

With a look of prideful satisfaction, Korra raised her brow and crossed her arms smirking at the Mako snow pile. "Got anything smart to say about _that_, City Boy?" Too cocky, hu? That otta teach him not to throw a snowball at her face!

The pile never budged.

She huffed. "Oh, come _on_, Mako!"

Her demand was still answered with silence.

Her victorious expression suddenly changed as her brows began to slant upward. Did she go too far this time? She gave Bolin a worried glance.

His expression was uncertain and he took a step toward the snow pile. "_Mako_, you alright, bro?"

Still nothing.

Korra's arms fell at her sides and her heart clenched. Within seconds, she was on her knees and digging up the snow on top of Mako. She was too overwhelmed to even think of bending it off. "Mako, are you ok?!…_Crap!_" She cursed herself under her breath. What had she done? She had only been playing around. She didn't mean to actually hurt him. She could have _sworn_ he could handle it. The snowball hadn't been _that_ big, had it? Okay…so maybe it _was_ a bit big, but she never thought it would injure him. She finally uncovered his face, the collar of his coat barely peeking out of the snow. "_Mako!_" Relief washed over her. "Are you ok?!"

He let out a soft grunt and opened one eye hesitantly to look up at Korra. Of course he was all right. It was just like Korra to lose her cool and cheat. So he figured he would mess with her.

She waited for a response.

That concerned expression on her face was priceless. She cared about him that much, hu? Mako was just toying with her, even though in reality he really did think that he hurt himself.

Bolin jumped with excitement. "He's _alive_! Don't ever scare me like that again, bro! You scared _Korra_." He made an exaggerated gesture in her direction.

Korra flushed with hesitation and frowned. "I wasn't _scared_. I was just….worried…" Pfft! Scared? Who did he think she was? Sure, it freaked her out a little and made her heart hurt at the thought of him being critically injured, but it didn't scare her. Did it?… She was the Avatar. She wasn't supposed to get scared. She mentally shook herself and then gripped the front of Mako's coat and began to pull him up. "Let me get you outta there."

Suddenly, a smirk curved up the side of his mouth and he grabbed Korra in a bear hug and rolled her onto her back into another pile of white. "I said no waterbending, _cheater._" He raised one dark brow as he leaned over her face and kept her pinned beneath him.

She met his gaze challengingly and grinned, an explosion of elation welling up in the pit of her chest at his surprising actions. "Who said I was waterbending?"

"Don't be ridiculous." He frowned with a grin.

"_Deal_ with it!" She daringly mimicked his expression and leaned up in aggression as if to test him.

His chest flared with excitement and he leaned down to kiss that smart mouth of hers, pressing her deeper into the snow and causing it to creep into the neck of her parka.

She tensed at the coldness, tightly gripping the shoulders of his coat and letting out a sound of shock that was muffled by the kiss.

Bolin raised his brows, noticing the way Mako was pinning Korra with his body. "Woah!…Up close and personal…I'm just gonna…uhh…Ahem.." He slowly began to back away. "…help Asami with the snowmen… and the airbender kids.." He cleared his throat and walked away. He wasn't quite sure if seeing them together was something he was ready to see yet….even if Korra really did deserve whatever was best for her.

Korra shivered as the snow crept deeper into the neck of her dark blue parka and spilled over her collarbone. Spirits, that was cold! She quickly broke the kiss. "_Mako_." She said breathlessly. "Ok, I get that I'm a Watertribe native, but even _Watertribe_ get cold if they're getting buried in snow." The more aggressive he had gotten, the more snow had begun to surround her and seep into her parka. It was making her cold and she wanted to get up. Plus, she felt very uncomfortable knowing that Asami, Bolin, and the airbender kids were only a few yards away from them building snowmen. She looked away. "I also don't really think now is the time." She cleared her throat, hating that she had to put it that way. She had actually been enjoying the kiss a lot, but knowing that the others were there caused her to be too self-conscious to enjoy it much.

He noticed that she had glanced over his shoulder at Boilin, Asami, and Tenzin's kids. "Ahem- right." He had been so wrapped up in being with Korra that he hadn't even thought about the others being around. He needed to be more considerate, but he hadn't expected to get worked up enough to kiss her. It had only been planned to be a tackle. He lowered his eyes and started to make his way off of her, but before he could completely sit up, he cringed in pain and almost fell on top of her again.

"Mako…" Korra instantly sat up on one palm and held his shoulder to steady him. Her eyes scanned his physique thoroughly without thought. "What is it?" Her aqua gaze met his intensely.

His brows pulled together. "I'm alright. It's just my hip. I'll be fine." He remembered falling into something hard and solid when that giant snowball had hit him. It must have been a lump of solidified snow or something.

"You sure?" She frowned with uncertainty.

He slowly and carefully got to his feet. "Yea, I'm alright." His voice had a slight strain to it. He was a bit surprised by her concern. The last time she had shown that much concern for him was when Amon was about to take his bending away.

She watched him carefully as she began to stand, noticing the way he leaned more to his right and kept his brows drawn tautly over his forehead. Something wasn't right. By the look in his auburn eyes she could tell that it was hurting him more than he wanted to admit. Her eyes narrowed as she took a step closer and placed a hand over his left hip.

He blushed. "What are you doing?- _Ahh!_" He flinched and stumbled into her, the left side of his hip throbbing and flaring mercilessly.

"Sorry…" She helped steady him, pulling one of his arms over her shoulders.

He tightly gripped the shoulder of her parka from the pain. "What was that?"

She scowled at him with a bit of frustration. "I was using my waterbending to scan your hip. You got hurt when you _fell_. Didn't you? Why didn't you just tell me?" Her expression became that of concern.

"Because I'm fine." He looked away with a frown.

Her eyes narrowed. "It's _fractured_." She sighed and allowed her expression to soften. "This is my fault…Come on, I can treat you inside."

His brows slanted at her reaction. "Korra, it's not your fault. I just fell on some ice." He used his other hand to fix that one strand that always fell from her bangs.

She turned her face away from his hand and carefully steered him in the direction of her house. "No, I should have been more careful." She mentally cursed herself. Her recklessness had gotten in the way again and now Mako was hurt.

"Korra…" Using the arm he had draped over her shoulders, he reached the side of her neck with his hand and caressed her gently, trying his best to relax her. She was a lot more protective of him than he had though she was. "It's ok. We were just messing around. It's no one's fault."

Letting her stubbornness get the best of her, she didn't pay him any mind as he tried to comfort her. She was too angry with herself. Though, she did enjoy the light brushes of his fingertips along the side of her neck.

As they got closer to the house, Jinora ran over to them. "Korra! Aren't you guys going to help us build our snowmen? The next one is supposed to look like Lin!" She grinned and folded her hands behind her back, swaying happily from side to side.

Korra raised her brows and glanced back at the snowmen they had created. She noticed what appeared to be Tenzin, Pema, and a halfway done Katara. Bolin and Asami sculpted the arms while Meelo and Ikki gathered more snow. Korra looked down at Jinora again. "Umm, I can't right now. I kind of have to help Mako ….but we'll be back."

"_Ohhhhh_… You guys just want to be _alone_. I get you." Jinora winked at Korra and gave Mako a nod as if to signify that she knew what the two of them were up to.

Korra blushed and jerked her head back repulsively. "Yea, uh, maybe we'll just stay inside."

Mako smiled. "How about we make a snowman that looks like Korra once we get back?"

"Yay! Great idea!" She jumped with glee. "I'm gonna go tell the others! _Oh!…_Have _fun_." She waggled her brows before running off in the other direction.

Korra sighed and narrowed her eyes, seeming unimpressed. "Don't pay her any mind." She shook her head and continued to lead him into the house. "Especially Ikki." She pouted with irritation. She didn't understand what it was about children and their tendency to embarrass her.

Mako just smirked, allowing Korra to lead him through the front door and around the house as he limped along side of her. The pain was starting to get worse. He figured adrenaline had numbed the pain for a bit and it was now wearing off.

Korra led him into a room, relieved that they hadn't run into anyone on the way in. She didn't want to explain how she had accidentally injured Mako. She already felt horrible about it. She needed to be more careful.

"Is this your room?" Mako looked around the small room curiously.

"Yeah. Nothing special and not very big, but it works." She cautiously led him over to a bed at the far corner of the room near a window. "You can wait here while I go get a bucket of water." She steadily helped him sit on the edge of her bed, desperately trying not to hurt him. Unfortunately, her care didn't help much.

He cringed with a small cry of pain and held tightly to Korra's parka before he could sit down all the way. "Korra! Korra, wait!" He almost whimpered at the intense amount of pressure and agony that he felt.

She held onto him tightly and tried to steady him as he forced himself to stand.

He leaned on her whole-heartedly and took a few breaths, pressing his face into her neck. "I- I can't sit like that. It hurts. I think I have to lie down."

"Are you ok?" She worriedly rubbed his back while unsuccessfully trying to hide the alarm in her voice.

He nodded, still keeping a tight grip on her and fisting her parka as his hip proceeded to burn sharply. The weight of his leg wasn't helping with the pain either. "Yeah, I'm ok." He breathed. "I just think I should lie down instead."

She took a breath to calm the worried panic in her chest. The way he was clinging to her was enough to signify how much pain he was in, let alone his yelp of pain. Her brows slanted upward. This was her fault. "Ok, let's try laying you down."

He mentally steadied himself and nodded, ignoring the pound of fire in his left hip. "Ok."

They both collaborated in getting him onto the bed, and lying on his back. It was difficult, and extremely painful for Mako, but they eventually succeeded….even if it wasn't the most comfortable of positions.

Korra propped two pillows beneath Mako's head so that he could sit up a little more. "Is that ok?" She looked at him worriedly.

He gave a soft smirk. "I'll be fine, Korra." Of course he would be fine. He could handle it. For her, he could handle anything.

Without thinking, she ran a hand through his hair. "I'll be right back." She hurried out the door before he could get in a response.

**Note: I hope you all enjoyed it so far :) I will try and post the second half ASAP.**

**Questions/Comments? Don't be afraid to say anything. :)**

**PS- If you're really enjoying the fanfic and the way I write you should like my Avatar Korra page. I'll be posting every so often whenever I come up with a new fic, a drawing, or anything LOK and MAKORRA really. :3 Feel free to use it as a way to express any sort of LOK fanlore and discussion :) I've posted the link on my Fanfiction Profile page. ENJOY!**

**"You know what I'm talkin' about, Pabu. I'm talkin' about _real_ love."- Bolin **


	17. Finding Korra

**Note: Whew!….I am so sorry that it took me so long to write this. I have been swamped with college BS and tins of other things to get done (like work.) Anyways, I really hope that you guys enjoy this. Hopefully it makes a good wrap up…errr I'm not sure lol but uhhhh…..yeahh I tried to end it the best way that I could :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Legend of Korra.**

Mako took a breath and stared blankly at the ceiling while he waited. He didn't want Korra to think that it was her fault. Maybe she could be a little rash at times and a bit reckless, but she hadn't actually meant to hurt him. Korra was just Korra, and even if it drove him crazy most of the time…it was ok. It was what made her amazing.

Korra came through the door and quickly shut it behind her. There was a small bucket of water in one of her hands as she swiftly paced over to the bedside. Kneeling next to the bed, she set down the bucket and hastily began to pull off her parka. The water sloshed around at her imprudence. "Feeling ok?" Her parka was carelessly tossed to the floor as she slightly leaned on the mattress.

He just watched, mused by her haphazard movements.

She noticed the way his large figure awkwardly stretched out along her low bed. His heels almost hung over the edge. "I guess my bed is a bit small." She bit her lip with an unsure expression.

"Relax, Korra." He gave her bare shoulder a gentle graze.

She smirked only slightly and for a short amount of time before her eyes wandered over his injured hip. She realized this would probably be more awkward than she had expected. "Um, ok, this is gonna sound a little strange but…" She rubbed the back of her neck and loudly cleared her throat. "I- I'm going to have to…well…remove your pants."

"Huh?" His brows furrowed curiously, cheeks slightly flushing.

She harmlessly put up her hands and blushed, eyes wide and nervous. "N-not all the way!…just…below your hips sorta- kinda…" She fake coughed into her fist and avoided his eyes completely, allowing her gaze to wander far off to the side of the room. "In order to water-heal, I need contact with your skin…"

It seemed embarrassing, but Mako knew it was just a part of the procedure. So, he nodded, taking a breath and loosening the belt of his coat so that he could shrug himself out of it. He didn't want it to get in the way of what she had to do.

She gave him a worried glance, the ocean in her eyes a bit unsteady. "It shouldn't take very long anyway. Only a few minutes." She watched as he steadily began to shrug out of his coat and work on undoing his pants. To her, he appeared to be edgy. She could read it in those amber eyes of his. It didn't matter _how_ well he concealed it. "I mean if you're uncomfortable, I can get Katara. It's not a big a deal. I just want-"

"-Korra." He paused and looked at her with steady amber eyes.

How in the world could he keep the flames of his irises so controlled?

"I'm ok with you doing it." He finished undoing his pants and painfully attempted to pull them down.

"You need help with that?"

"I've got it." He grunted as he carefully leaned to the side to pull them down to his thighs, revealing a red pair of boxer briefs as he settled back into a more comfortable position.

Korra hesitated, trying her best not to stare at the shape of him, and awkwardly found his gaze. She gave him a nervous smile and lightly scratched her jaw. "Uh…Nice!" She gestured to his briefs casually as she spoke. "They match your scarf. So was that on _purpose_ or just a random coincidence?" She let out an unsteady laugh, stopping abruptly at a light flick against her forehead. She flinched and scowled. "_Hey!_"

Mako raised one brow and kept a serious expression, his own version of a pout. "Can we be serious about this? I'm in a bit of pain here that is gradually turning to agony."

Her brows slanted with self-scorn. "You're right. Sorry." She didn't mean to sound insensitive. She was just a bit nervous and timid. She wasn't sure how to react to the current situation, especially because it was her fault.

He smirked softly at her slight fluster. It was just a tease for poking fun at the relation between his scarf and his underwear. As she began to gently tug down the left side of his waistband, he reached over to lightly graze his fingertips over her shoulder.

Her shoulders relaxed at his touch, yet she still seemed uncertain. He figured it had something to do with the fact that she was trying to pull his waistband to expose his left hip.

The idea of him exposing more of himself left him a bit timid. With a hint of a frown he asked. "What are you doing?" He kept his eyes on her face trying to ignore how he felt, but it didn't take much longer for him to feel apprehensive again. She wouldn't uncover _all_ of him, would she?

"I need to scan your hip again before I start healing." After exposing his skin, Korra softly caressed her fingers along the contours of his hip to trace the fracture.

His skin tingled wherever her fingers brushed and his heart began to pound, extremely conscious of her tenderness and how close she was to the fly of his boxer briefs.

"Why?" She raised her brow as she gently trailed her fingertips over the V of his hip. "You nervous, Cool Guy?" She charmed him with a playful smirk.

Stomach muscles flexed from beneath his tank top as he tried to retain composure. He loved when she smirked like that. "No…" He lied. Of course he was nervous. Korra had never touched him this way before, and never near such a personal area. She was normally a bit shallow with affection.

Korra began to waterbend a handful of water out of the bucket and maneuver it around his hip. She admitted to herself that she was just a little nervous about healing him. To her, his body looked gorgeous and she just couldn't get over the way his abs subtly bulged, cutting a lovely V into his hips. She mentally shook herself, ignoring the appeal of his toned body and forcing herself to focus on restoring his fracture.

He groaned lightly as pain was instantly replaced by the gentle warmth of the glowing water. If only that water had been her hands instead…touching him again...feeling him…massaging so close to his groin, like a tease…

"How you holding up? You ok?" She gave him a short shy glance as she continued her work.

He slightly shifted as heat threatened to creep between his legs. "Yeah." The sensations of her water-healing were phenomenal….something like a warm soothing massage. It seemed to warm as it cooled, teasing his nerve-endings playfully. He sighed with content, glad that all these sensations were because of Korra. "I see what my brother was talking about when you healed his shoulder." His eyes wistfully drifted about her face and settled on her turquoise eyes. He reached up to trace the back of his finger along her jaw line.

She portrayed a soft smirk, enjoying his touch and slowing the movements of the water.

That stirred up a whole new sensation on his pelvis, and he gave a small jerk as a warm rush of blood slowly made its way to his groin and burned gently. He groaned a bit shyly this time, moving his hand down to grip the edge of her tank top and struggling to keep a controlled breathing pattern. So badly he wanted to say her name. He just wanted to moan it to her while she touched him in all the right places. She was so close to touching between his legs…

Korra frowned slightly, doing her best to pay no mind to the random sounds of satisfaction he projected. "Mako, I need you to stay still."

"Sorry…" He tightly gripped the comforter, using the hand that she couldn't see. He just needed something to grab onto….preferably, Korra…

"Just a few more minutes."

He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the way the warm energy of the water rendered the heat in his crotch. It was getting hotter, enough for him to feel it throb. He opened his eyes, his heart beating nervously. This was too much. He could feel himself beginning to swell. "Korra…" His brows slanted worriedly and he sat up on his elbows. The shape of him began to push along the inside of his briefs. He immediately used a hand to try and hide himself, but it was a bit difficult to cover.

How would she react? Would it make her angry?….Crap…This was Korra….She would kill him, wouldn't she? Knowing Korra, he knew she wouldn't deal with anything she disapproved of.

Korra groaned with irritation and momentarily suspended the water in the air. "_Mako_, would you quit it? You keep _moving_. I can't focus on your fracture when you do that." She raised her brow, noticing his current position. What was with him? He was never no antsy or impatient. "Are you uncomfortable or something? You're covering yourself…I mean, I- I don't mind it or anything, but…you really need to stop moving." She gave a slight pout

"No. No, I'm not uncomfortable. I- I'm fine. I just…." He sighed with a frown and lowered his eyes, feeling a bit frustrated with his embarrassment. "_You_…You turned me on, _alrigh_t?" He said it a bit harshly as he uncovered himself and looked away. "It's your _fault_ for being all gentle and beautiful…and stuff…" A pink flush tinted his cheeks and touched over the bridge of his nose. "I don't get why you gotta be so sensual…or why your touch is so warm …" He muttered this quietly and fumbled with his scarf.

She froze. He was enjoying her touch? She took a glance between his legs, keeping the water suspended. Oh, he enjoyed it all right. He was hard and full. The length of him strained against his boxers and curved off to the right, unable to push past the elasticity of the waistband. For some reason some part of her began to find him to be even _more_ appealing. Something about it all made him quite handsome….masculine…

She was suddenly overcome by some sort of nervous rush and averted her gaze to his face, unsure of what to say. "Mako…" Her voice came out a bit huskier than she wanted it to.

His eyes were timid pools of liquid amber. They burned like dim embers, focusing on her longingly. He craved her attention and he couldn't help it.

There was a knock at the door. "_Korra_."

Korra dropped the water in Mako's lap and instantly leaned an elbow over the bed so that her body was blocking his waist.

He gasped as the water drenched his boxers, and pressed a hand over his crotch.

The door opened and Senna poked her head in. "What are you doing?"

"Mom- Hi! Ahem- This isn't- we-we were just- _Mako_…got hurt and I'm- I'm healing him." Korra put her other hand on her hip and threw up a cheesy grin. "Yeah- yeah, that's _exactly_ what happened." She nodded.

Mako waved to Senna hesitantly. "Hi, Senna…" He was blushing furiously with a troubled look of shock on his face. This was the worst situation ever…

Senna slightly tilted her head to the side, not fully understanding the odd behavior between the two of them. She figured it was just because she had a crush on Mako. "Hm, well maybe I should go get Katara."

Mako squirmed with anxious discomfort and cleared his throat.

Korra quickly shook her head. "_NO!_ Ahem, I mean, no. No that's ok. We're fine."

Senna frowned a little. "She's a great healer, Korra-"

"-_Mom._ I'm fine." She jerked her brows with impatience as if to signal her to leave. "Really. I know what I'm doing. Katara trained me, remember?" She raised one brow.

Senna waved a hand. "Alright, alright…Well dinner will be ready in a few minutes. That should be enough time for you guys to go outside for a while. I just wanted to see how you guys were doing." She glanced around the room. "It's getting a little dark. You should turn a light on."

Korra rubbed her left temple with irritation, sensing Mako's unease. "Yeah, ok."

"I'll call you when dinner's ready." She left and closed the door.

Korra sighed and turned her focus back to Mako. "I'm…sorry about that. My mom, she just comes right on in." She made a dramatic gesture and let her hands drop with frustration. "You ok?"

His eyes found hers timidly. "I'm ok. I just…" He slightly frowned, still holding his hand between his legs. Using his other hand, he nervously scratched the side of his head as he cleared his throat. "I'm sorry..."

Sorry? Why was he sorry? Korra tilted her head curiously. "For what? Everything's kewl." She shrugged one shoulder and bent the water back into the bucket. She never thought of him as a shy kind of guy, but she guessed that he was really hard on himself. "Don't worry she didn't see anything." She turned her eyes in his direction and took note of his frustrated expression. She placed a hand on his thigh. "Mako…" Her gaze softened with sympathy.

His eyes found hers shamefully and then he looked away again, his brows still pulled together with frustration. He felt like an idiot. For one, that would have been thee most horrible first impression if her mother had seen the fact that his pants were slightly pulled down and that he was hot and heavy for her daughter. Two, He didn't even _know_ what Korra was thinking. He suddenly felt her fingers curl over the palm of his hand as he hid himself. His eyes found hers in an instant, watching as she uncovered him and brought his palm to her lips. With a blush, he met her aqua eyes sheepishly. "Korra…"

She smirked crookedly. "_Relax_, City Boy." Using her other hand, she hooked a finger in his scarf and tugged him forward for a kiss.

He groaned softly when their lips made contact and flexed his abs as the heat between his legs worsened. She was trying to let him know that his arousal didn't bother her, and for that he was grateful.

She tightly squeezed his hand and pulled him closer by his scarf. He moaned and used his other hand to cup the side of her face as the kiss deepened. She was his drug, and he needed more of her. He wanted every inch of her…..everything…

The hand she had on his scarf trailed up into his hair and gave a light tug. He eagerly reached for her waist and pulled her closer to the edge of the bed with a grunt. She smiled, softly breaking the kiss. "Alright, Mako….Well, I need to finish healing you now." She kissed his cheek timidly and started to waterbend the water from the bucket again.

Mako stayed sitting up and toyed with the ends of her right ponytail. "But I feel fine. It's not even that bad anymore. It's just a little- _mmmmmmm_…" He moaned as she began to work the water on his hip.

Korra laughed. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"Shut up…" He slightly blushed at his lack of control as his member got harder and began to ache. He leaned forward and rested his head on her shoulder. He loved being this close…so close he could smell her. Something about it was refreshing and arousing at the same time. Unconsciously, he began to nuzzle between her neck and her collarbone.

She laughed and gave a slight jump. "_Mako_…Stop, that tickles!"

He stopped and kissed her shoulder with a soft smile. "But you smell good." He gave a slight whine.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She raised her brow sarcastically, unsure of how to take the compliment. "Just let me finish this…" She rotated the water over his hip for a bit longer and then stored it back into the bucket. Then she pulled up the left side of his waistband to cover him again. "There. I'm done."

"Thanks, Korra."

She lowered her eyes shamefully. "No. It was actually my fault in the first place so….I'm sorry I hurt you. I should have been more careful." She sighed with exasperation. "I just- I wasn't thinking." She fisted her hands with frustration.

Mused by her blunt scornful apology, he reached over to grab her hand and smirked. "You may be impatient, stubborn, reckless, and drive me _insane_, but, Korra….that's what I love about you. So stop apologizing and stop being afraid to look at me…" His warm amber eyes met with hers confidently.

She brushed her thumb over the back of his hand and smiled, raising one brow. "Yeah, well you're a _pain in the ass_ too, but…that's what I love about you too." She kissed his knuckles and squeezed her way onto the edge of the bed so that she was sitting beside him. She didn't care if he was still aroused. It didn't bother her. Though it did spark her curiosity. She found herself itching to touch him for some reason, drawn to his masculine aura.

He frowned with a light smirk, gently pulling her against his chest. "You get what I mean."

She laughed and nuzzled his chest. "Yeah, I _get what you mean_." She tightly wrapped an arm around his waist. "But what did you mean by being afraid to look at you?" She tilted her head up to get a glimpse of his face. "I'm not _afraid_ to look at you." She frowned defensively. "You _don't_ intimidate me."

A scowl pulled lowly over his forehead. "That's not what I meant."

She sported a pout to go along with that frown of hers. "Oh? Then what _did_ you mean?"

He sighed. "I- I meant…_all_ of me." He looked down and hooked a thumb in the waist of his pants to tug them down a bit lower. What was he doing? He mentally cursed himself. Why couldn't he think straight? Was it because this feeling with Korra was new to him?…Either way, to him it didn't matter…This was just a new feeling he would have to learn to control.

"Oh…that…"

Her unimpressed response made him a bit uncertain. Damn….he probably really scared her off now…

She tilted her head up to look at him again. "You mean the way your _red_ underwear match your _red_ scarf." She grinned what was her impression of a troll face.

His uncertainty melted away as he was taken aback. Oh, now she was toying with him? This excited him a bit. "You _know_ that's not what I'm talking about." He frowned, his voice a bit husky.

She laughed, planting a few kisses along his collarbone before she pushed into his chest so that he fell back into the pillows. "Yeah, so what?" She shifted her torso halfway over his chest and leaned both arms on either side of his head. She still had that smug look on her face.

That face alone got Mako worried: crooked smirk, confident and happily narrowed eyes, and that intensity in her aura that vaguely reminded him of a moose-lion ready to pounce… Whenever she glowed like that, it usually meant she was up to no good. Placing his hands on her hips, he raised his brow. "What are you doing?"

She shrugged and leaned down to nuzzle his neck. "Kissing you. Duhh…" She laughed lightly and kissed along the side of his neck down to his collarbone.

"Korra…" He shivered with pleasure and eagerly dragged her hips over so that she was completely on top of him. His lips found hers in an instant, drowning out her surprised reaction with pure heat. She tensed nervously as his hard-on pressed into her hip. Noticing her reaction, Mako cautiously lightened up the kiss and brought his hands up to stroke the sides of her face. "Relax, it's ok…" He brushed a strand of hair from her bangs.

She ignored his concern and kissed his jaw, not wanting to admit how uneasy she was. "I'm fine." Her kisses began to trail timidly down his neck.

Mako gently lifted her chin to look at her and raised his brow. He wasn't stupid. It was easy to read her uncertainty by the tension of her muscles.

Her turquoise eyes found his innocently. She smiled out of her own nervousness and turned her chin away from his grasp. "Stop." Wearing a goofy grin, she leaned down to give him an impatient kiss on the lips, and her hand shyly felt over his hip.

Was she crazy? She wasn't too sure. In fact, she wasn't thinking much at all, really.

Mako's hip slightly jerked at the touch of her hand. "_Korra._" His voice sounded more like a sultry warning. It was very blunt, almost coming out like a growl.

She laughed a deeply. "What?" She didn't wait for his response. She just started to nibble up his neck and playfully tug at his ear with her teeth. A warm humming sound emitted from her throat as she tugged as if she were about to laugh.

This caused his heart to kick up and kindle some sort of heat in his chest as her light hum tickled his ear. He strongly gripped her waist and ground his hips against hers with a hungry moan. He wanted her badly. He didn't understand how or what he would do. He just knew that he wanted her, and that playful attitude of hers wasn't helping….neither was the deep husky tone of her voice. Her sexuality easily stood out because of that. It just screamed aphrodisiac. There was no denying that she wanted him just as much as he wanted her.

He gently lifted her chin again and raised his brows. "Take it easy."

Korra gave him a repulsive pout. "I've waited since probending to finally be able to kiss you, and you want me to _take it easy_?" Her brow twitched challengingly, and she lightly rubbed her fingertips over the hip of his boxer briefs.

His abs tightened eagerly and he groaned, eyes of liquid topaz darkening lustfully. "You never actually waited."

Her eyes narrowed with a cunning smirk. "_You_ never actually _took it easy_."

With dark hooded eyes, he leaned up to kiss her without a retort. She was right. She was just too delectable for him to simply "take it easy." One hand pressed firmly against the small of her back and the other reached up to undo the hair wrap on the back of her head. Dark chocolate locks of hair cascaded in waves over her shoulders and around her face as she leaned over him. The slightly curled ends of her hair tickled his face as she raised her brows in a bit of unexpectancy. He ran his fingers through her hair and watched her eyes. "Did I ever tell you how beautiful you look with your hair down?"

She blushed and hesitated. "Really?…I- I mean, I …N-no- _that _is way off topic!" She raised her brow sharply.

He smiled and combed his fingers through her silky hair.

"And I never said you could untie my hair. I keep it up for a reason." She huffed.

"Deal with it." His eyes met hers challengingly, the embers of his eyes giving a slight flicker.

That took her by surprise, yet something about it also made her excited. Something within her emboldened and she accepted his challenge, sliding her hand lower to press between his legs as she kissed him deeply. With a dark hungry groan, he tightly gripped the bottom of her tank top while shaping her side with his other hand. His hips moved slightly and he nibbled at her neck, allowing the tip of his tongue to taste her with each nip. "Korra…" He breathed. "Maybe you really _should_ take it easy…" His legs weakened at her touch.

She could feel his breathing become ragged and brush against her skin. The heat between his legs pulsed mercilessly at the palm of her hand. This wasn't something she was used to. None of it was, but she was just acting instinctively, and instinctively she knew this would make him feel good. She wanted to touch him. "…I don't want to…" Her hand rubbed curiously along the pulse between his legs and he gripped her tighter.

One hand tangled into her hair as he gave her neck a soft nip, struggling to contain himself. "Easy, Korra…" He groaned lightly and placed his hand over the one she had between his legs. His fingers carefully laced with hers and he gave her a slow strong kiss against her lips. "Such a hasty girl…"

She smirked crookedly against his lips and gave him a playful scowl. "Then let me be hasty…" She gave his lower lip a sensual tug with her teeth. "I thought you didn't take it easy." Her hand wrapped around the length of him through his boxer briefs.

He flushed with a moan and tightened the grip he had on her hand. Amber eyes flashed a wicked warning in her direction; a warning seemed to hold hidden promises. His brow raised sharply. "Well, one of us has to keep a straight mind here, and it's definitely not you."

"You're always so rigid…Don't you know how to have any fun?" She started to rub him again and he stopped her.

"_Korra_…" He raised his brow. "I'm pretty sure dinner is close to being ready. I don't want her to walk in on me and my pants are down again." He brought her hand up to his face and brushed his lips over her knuckles. "…especially not with you on top of me."

Her eyes narrowed boredly. "Buzzkill…" She muttered.

He leaned up and kissed her softly with a light laugh. "Come on, _Avatar_…"

She twisted her mouth to the side with a scowl. "Whatever…"

He hated her look of disappointed, but he sat up anyway, taking her with him. Handling her would be something else entirely. That girl was a stubborn little thing, but he loved it. He loved her, and there was nothing he would change about it…..and it amazed him to think that all of this happened from that night that they found Korra. If it had happened any other way, he didn't think that he would have ever been up front with his feelings for her.

Thank the spirits for finding Korra..

**Note: Questions/Comments? Feel free to say anything, as always :) YES, I will be writing some stuff for Book 2: Spirits! LOL umm and I might create a collection of one shots as long as my college does not become an issue. So far its a little hectic, but I will see what I can do :) THANK YOU ALL FOR THE SUPPORT! ILOVE YOU GUYS! YOU'RE ALL FRICKEN AWESOME! ^_^ and I hope to intrigue you all for my fanfic on next season.**


End file.
